On Friday, 5th October 2012, the Default Retirement Age (DRA) was finally abolished in the UK. Employers have not been able to force their employees to retire just because of passing the age of 65 already since the 1st October 2011. Until then, however, they could have done it using a six to twelve months' notice. Thus, the last day when it was possible to involuntarily retire because of age passed on the 5th October.
Employers and various business organizations such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) were originally against the abolition of the retirement age. They argued with insufficient preparedness of employers and greater risk of unpleasant and costly litigations. On the contrary, organizations dedicated to helping older people welcomed the abolition of the retiremtn age limit.
The director of UK's largest charity organization helping older people - Age UK - Michelle Mitchell told the HR Review website: "We hope that now it is illegal to force someone out of their job simply because they are 65 or over, it will make employers look beyond their staff’s date of birth, objectively assess their skills and contributions and trigger a more positive and realistic attitude to older people." According to her, the DRA abolition is a significant milestone in the fight against age discrimination.
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