The Ministry of Labour, Social Security and The Third Sector informs employers, employees and the public that the compulsory age of retirement in the public sector, that is, Central Government and state-owned enterprises, is established by legislation. Examples of those pieces of legislation include the Pensions Act, Cap. 25 and the Statutory Boards (Pensions) Act, Cap. 384.
In contrast, there is no legislation which standardises the age of retirement for persons employed in the private sector. The contract of employment, whether oral or written, and workplace policies are to be relied on to give direction on the age of retirement in individual organisations within the private sector.
It must be noted that, under the Employment Rights Act – 2012 (ERA), employees in private sector organisations and statutory corporations have the right not to be unfairly dismissed.
Section 30(c)xi(A) of the ERA provides that if a contract of employment is terminated for a reason that relates to the age of the employee, that action may contravene the employee’s right. A further consideration is that under the Employment (Prevention of Discrimination) Act – 2020 age is one of the grounds on which an employee may make a claim of discrimination.
Employers and employees are encouraged to review and familiarise themselves with the arrangements concerning retirement in their places of employment.
For further information, persons may contact the Industrial Relations Section of the Labour Department – Ministry of Labour, Social Security and The Third Sector at telephone numbers: 535-1510, 535-1526, 832-0479, and 832-0539.