Age regulations - School policy and procedure
Employment of staff post retirement

Introduction

The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 came into force in the UK on 1 October 2006 outlawing age discrimination in employment and vocational training. The Age Regulations apply to all workers and to people who apply for work.

Under the Regulations, there is a national default retirement age of 65, which will remain in place until 2011 when the Government will review whether it continues to be necessary. It is not unlawful discrimination for employers to retire employees at or above the age of 65. Further, dismissal on grounds of retirement will be fair provided that the employer follows a statutory procedure.

From 1 October 2006 employees have the right to request to work beyond the date on which their employer intends them to retire. Where requests are made, employers have a duty to consider the request under a procedure set out in the Regulations.

The Regulations do not create a right to work beyond retirement, merely the right to make a request to do so. Employees can request to work beyond retirement age either indefinitely, or for a specified period or until a specified date. Employers have the right to refuse the request or to allow the employee to work beyond retirement age for a shorter period than has been requested. Further, the statutory right is not a right to request any form of alternative duty or flexible working – it is simply a right to request to carry on performing the employee's existing duties on the same terms and conditions of employment.

Where employees are permitted to work beyond retirement age, the statutory procedure must be followed again when the employer subsequently wishes to retire the employee or in advance of any future retirement date specified when the request is granted.

This document outlines to Heads of Department/Heads of Division/Heads of Service the School's intended policy in respect of the Age Regulations which has been broadly endorsed by DMT, Human Resources Strategy Committee and Council. The procedure set out below is mandatory and must be strictly adhered to in order to ensure the School complies with its legal obligations.

The School's policy

Working beyond retirement

The School's policy is that the normal retirement age for staff will continue to be 65 and that continued employment will only be allowed in exceptional cases. No additional resource can be made available to fund such requests and thought will have to be given to the research and teaching profiles of Departments; the potential need to change academic direction which might require the recruitment of new staff rather than the retention of existing staff; and the overall position of the School. Cases for continued employment after 65 will need to take the form of a statement outlining how such employment will result in a significant contribution to the School's strategic objectives.

Post 65 employment does, of course, already take place in the School on a limited basis. A number of academic staff are reemployed on a hourly paid or fractional basis to carry out teaching duties; some have taken on office holder positions; and others have used external funding to extend their contracts for a limited period. From time to time, members of the academic support staff also continue their employment for a short period after the normal retirement age. These arrangements can and should continue subject to the availability of local resources, although for staff with retirement dates after 1 October 2006, such decisions should only be made under the procedure outlined below.
In the case of academic support staff, the future needs and direction of the Division/Service will also need to be taken into account. Retirement of academic support staff provides the opportunity to realign and reconfigure responsibilities and roles, promote existing staff and to recruit “new blood”; these factors will have to be taken into account when considering requests for post 65 employment.

Where staff wish to continue in employment after the age of 65, they will be expected to continue to carry out their full range of duties. In the case of academic staff, this will include research, teaching and Departmental/School administration. Staff may request to work on a part time basis but will be expected to carry out a proportionate workload.

In order not to constrain the School's future needs, employment after the age of 65 will be subject to review. Members of staff whose requests for continued employment after the age of 65 are approved will be offered a new retirement date, which (save in very exceptional cases) will not be higher than 67. Should a member of staff wish to request a further period of post retirement employment, they will be expected to make a further case a year before their revised retirement date. In summary, the School will therefore extend the retirement age in the first instance and members of staff will subsequently be expected to make a case for further continued employment if they wish to continue working beyond the extension granted. As stated above, this procedure will apply to retirement at the end of any extended period of employment and any request to continue working beyond that date.

Timing

The statutory procedure set out in the Regulations requires:

• the employer's notification of its intention that the employee should retire to be made 12 to 6 months before the intended retirement date; and
   
• the employee's request to work beyond that retirement date to be made 6 to 3 months before the intended retirement date.

These time limits cannot be altered. However, the School considers that on their own these time limits are unlikely to assist planning by either the School or the individual member of staff and that there would be mutual benefit in staff being able to provide an earlier indication of their interest in working beyond normal retirement age than is envisaged under the statutory scheme and to obtain an indication of whether that request is likely to be supported. For that reason, the School's procedure set out below includes provisions which enable staff to express an interest in working beyond normal retirement age 12 to 15 months before retirement. Although there will be no detailed consideration of the application at this stage, staff will be advised whether their request is supported by their Head of Department (or in the case of staff who are Heads of Department, by the VCAC) in advance of the formal notification and request procedure.

Responsibility for decision making under this procedure

Given the need to consider individual requests in this context, the following members of staff will be responsible for approving requests from members of staff for continued employment after the age of 65:

• Pro-Director (Planning and Resources) and the Pro-Director (External Relations), consulting the Vice Chair of Appointments Committee as appropriate: academic staff;
   
• the Secretary and Director of the Administration and the Pro-Director (Planning and Resources): staff in all areas of the Central Administration, in Library and Information Technology Services and the Office of Development and Alumni Relations; and support staff in academic departments;

Procedure for Academic Staff

Interpretation

For the purpose of this procedure, "intended retirement date" means:

• the date on which a member of academic staff would ordinarily retire under the School's normal retirement age for such staff;
   
• where the member of academic staff has been permitted to work beyond retirement age for a prescribed period or until a specified date, the expiry of that period or the specified date; or
   
• any other date notified to the member of academic staff as the date on which it is intended that he/she should retire.

The procedure for academic staff shall apply to Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, Readers and Professors.

At all meetings under this procedure, the member of staff has the right to be accompanied by a fellow member of staff or trade union representative. The representative may address the meeting but not answer questions on behalf of the member of staff and may confer with the member of staff during the meeting.

Where, in relation to any meeting under this procedure, the member of staff's representative is not available to attend the meeting at the time proposed, the meeting shall be postponed to a mutually convenient time not later than 7 days after the date proposed by the School.

Informal expression of interest stage

The purpose of this expression of interest/preliminary indication stage is not to make a final decision on any request but merely to assist both the School and the member of staff in their institutional and individual planning and allow the member of staff to seek a preliminary indication from the School as to whether that request is supported by his/her Head of Department (or the VCAC, when a member of staff is also a Head of Department).

The members of staff will be informed in writing of his/her retirement date not less than 15 months in advance and asked whether he/she wishes to express an interest in working beyond that date. The notification will advise the member of staff that:

• the purpose of this stage is not to decide whether any request should be granted but merely to allow the member of staff to express an interest in working beyond retirement and obtain an indication as to whether any such request is likely to be supported by his/her Department
   
• any formal request will have to be made once the member of staff has received formal notification of retirement under the later stages of this procedure
   
• that if the member of staff wishes to continue in employment after retirement age he/she will be expected to continue to carry out his/her full range of duties including research, teaching and Departmental/School administration; and that staff requesting to work beyond retirement on a part time basis will be expected to carry out a proportionate workload.

A member of staff wishing to express an interest in working beyond retirement shall do so in writing

• stating whether he/she is interested in working beyond retirement on an indefinite basis or for a specified period or until a specified date;
   
• stating whether the request is to continue on a full or part time basis, and where part time, details of the proposed working pattern; and
   
• outlining how his/her being able to work beyond retirement will result in a significant contribution to the School's strategic objectives. The member of staff may wish to draw on evidence relating to research, teaching and School service in this context; provide information relating to his/her impact on institutional reputation; and give details of academic leadership and School service. The case should be linked to departmental development plans and departmental strategy.

The expression of interest and supporting documentation shall be submitted to the member of staff's Head of Department (or in the case of academic staff who are Heads of Department to the VCAC) with a copy to the School's Director of Human Resources.

The Head of Department (or in the case of academic staff who are Heads of department, the VCAC) should discuss the case with academic colleagues before submitting comments in writing to the Director of Human Resources, indicating with reasons whether or not the request and supporting case is likely to be supported by the member of staff's department.

The member of staff shall be provided with a copy of the comments provided by his/her Head of Department (or in the case of academic staff who are Heads of Department, by the VCAC) but shall not have the right to appeal against the view expressed or to challenge those comments under the School's grievance procedure. The views expressed at this stage are not determinative and a decision will only be taken on a request once it is made under the formal procedure detailed below.

For the avoidance of doubt, staff who do not express an interest in working beyond retirement at this stage in the procedure may still make a final request following formal notification to them of the School's intention that he/she should retire.

Formal Procedure

Approximately 12 months in advance of the intended retirement date, the member of academic staff shall be notified by the School of:

• their intended retirement date;
   
• the School's intention that he/she should retire on that date;
   
• of his/her right to make a formal request to work beyond the intended retirement date and that if he/she wishes to make such a request, he/she should follow the procedure set out below.
   
• that staff wishing to continue working will be expected to carry out their full range of duties including research, teaching and Departmental/School administration and that staff requesting to work on a part time basis will be expected to carry out a proportionate workload.

Any request to work beyond the intended retirement date must be made no sooner than 6 months and no later than 3 months before the intended retirement date.

The request shall be made in writing and shall state whether it is a request to work indefinitely beyond the intended retirement date, or for a stated period or until a specified date after the intended retirement date. The request shall also state whether the request is to continue on a full or part time basis, and where part time, details of the proposed working pattern shall be given.

The formal request must be accompanied by a supporting case which makes clear how the request would make a significant contribution to the School's strategic objectives. The member of staff may wish to draw on evidence relating to research, teaching and School service in this context; provide information relating to their impact on institutional reputation; give details of academic leadership and School service. They should link their case to departmental development plans and departmental strategy.

Where the member of staff has already submitted a case under the expression of interest stage of this procedure, he/she shall be able to simply refer back to that document and/or provide any supplementary information. The member of staff may also submit a new or revised case.

The case should be sent to the Pro-Director (Planning and Resources) and the Pro-Director (External Relations), with a copy to the School's Director of Human Resources and the member of staff's Head of Department. If the member of staff is a Head of Department, a copy of the case should also be sent to the VCAC.

The member of staff's Head of Department (or as appropriate the VCAC) will be asked to comment on the request and supporting case and in particular to state whether he/she and departmental academic colleagues support the request. Where comments have already been made at the expression of interest stage, the Head of Department shall confirm whether or not these comments are repeated and may provide supplementary comments or information. For the avoidance of doubt, the Head of Department (or VCAC) may indicate that the request is supported; or that continuation of the member of staff's employment beyond the intended retirement date is supported for a period less than that which has been requested; or that the request is not supported.

Where the Pro-Directors are satisfied that the request is supported by a strong case and has the support of the member of staff's Head of Department (or in the case of academic staff who are Heads of Department, the VCAC) the request may be granted without the need for a meeting. In that event, the member of staff will receive written confirmation of agreement of his/her request. Where the request is agreed in principle but for a shorter period than has been requested by the member of staff or for a fixed period or until a specified date where the member of staff has requested an indefinite extension of employment beyond retirement, the member of staff shall be asked in writing if they agree to the extension of employment offered to them. If the member of staff agrees in writing, his/her employment will continue on that basis without the need for further steps under this procedure. The member of staff will receive written notification of the agreed period for which his/her employment can continue beyond the intended retirement date or the specified date on which such continued employment will end.

In all other cases, the member of staff shall be invited to a meeting to discuss his/her request with the Pro-Directors. The member of staff's Head of Department will also have the opportunity to attend that meeting to comment on the request. A member of the School's Human Resources Department will also be in attendance, in an advisory capacity to the Pro-Directors.

Within two weeks of the meeting, the member of staff will be advised in writing of the decision taken on his/her request.

Where the decision is to permit the member of staff to work beyond retirement, the notice of decision will state whether employment will continue indefinitely, for a further specified period or until a specified date. In line with the School's policy, it will be usual for any extension of employment beyond normal retirement age to be limited to the age of 67, save in exceptional cases. Where the member of staff has been allowed to continue working for a period less than he/she requested, the notification shall remind the member of staff of his/her right to appeal against that decision.

Where the member of staff is not permitted to work beyond retirement, the notice of decision will confirm that the School wishes to retire the member of staff and the date on which retirement will take effect. The member of staff will also be informed of his/her right to appeal against the decision.

In any case where it is not practicable to hold a meeting in a reasonable period following the request, the School will invite written representations from the member of staff and seek comments in writing from his/her Head of Department and the Pro-Directors will consider the request without a meeting.

Appeals

Appeals may be made:

• against a refusal to allow the member of staff to work beyond the intended retirement date; or
   
• against a decision to allow the member of staff to work beyond the intended retirement date but for a shorter period than that requested.

Appeals should be made as promptly as possible to the Director and ordinarily within two weeks of receipt by the member of staff of the written outcome from the meeting with the Pro-Directors. Appeals should be in writing, dated and set out in full the grounds of appeal relied on.

The member of staff will be invited to attend an appeal meeting with the Director to discuss the appeal. That meeting should normally take place within four weeks after receipt of the appeal.

If it is not practicable to hold a meeting with the member of staff within a reasonable period following the date of the notice of appeal, the School will invite written representations from the member of staff and will consider the appeal without holding a meeting.

As soon as reasonably practicable after the date of the meeting, the Director will notify the member of staff of his decision in writing. The notice of the decision shall be dated and:

• state that it has been decided that the member of staff's employment will continue indefinitely; or
   
• state that the member of staff has been allowed to continue his/her employment for a further period or until a specified date; or
   
• confirm that the School wishes to retire the employee on the intended retirement date and shall state the date on which his/her employment will end.

The decision of the Director shall be final.

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