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Ageist bosses could face £45m bill
21/02/2008
Solicitors in Belfast and Northern Ireland are being increasingly called on to mediate in cases of age discrimination.
Yet experts warn that employers in Belfast and Northern Ireland could end up paying costly compensation bills for forcing older employees to retire early.
According to an insurance company businesses in Britain and Northern Ireland could be hit by bills of over £45 million if employers are pursued by solicitors for forcing people to retire.
According to AXA's international retirement scope survey, even after age discrimination legislation was introduced in Belfast and Northern Ireland in 2006, many people still say they felt forced to retire by their boss.
Of the people who retired before the minimum legal age of 65, some 20 per cent said they were pressurised to stop working.
Steve Folkard, head of pensions and savings policy at AXA, said: "Despite legislation making it unlawful to discriminate against workers on the grounds of age, our study clearly shows that some employees are still being coerced into early retirement; meaning employers could be leaving themselves dangerously exposed to litigation.
"The cost of a successful claim can be significant and will be even higher when legal costs and damage to reputation are taken into account."
Contact us for legal advice
Yet experts warn that employers in Belfast and Northern Ireland could end up paying costly compensation bills for forcing older employees to retire early.
According to an insurance company businesses in Britain and Northern Ireland could be hit by bills of over £45 million if employers are pursued by solicitors for forcing people to retire.
According to AXA's international retirement scope survey, even after age discrimination legislation was introduced in Belfast and Northern Ireland in 2006, many people still say they felt forced to retire by their boss.
Of the people who retired before the minimum legal age of 65, some 20 per cent said they were pressurised to stop working.
Steve Folkard, head of pensions and savings policy at AXA, said: "Despite legislation making it unlawful to discriminate against workers on the grounds of age, our study clearly shows that some employees are still being coerced into early retirement; meaning employers could be leaving themselves dangerously exposed to litigation.
"The cost of a successful claim can be significant and will be even higher when legal costs and damage to reputation are taken into account."
Contact us for legal advice
