Throughout your course you will be asked to use case studies. These will be used for a number of reasons including helping you apply theory to practice, and assisting you in developing problem solving techniques. This task offers you the opportunity to help you make the most of using the case studies which you will encounter.

Instructions:

Read the attached case study. It is recommended that you take your tutor?s advice on how to ?read? case studies effectively.

Part One:

Produce a pr?cis (summary) of the document. Remember that you must ensure that your summary truly reflects the content of the case study.

Word Limit ? 100 words

Part Two:

This case study presents you with some questions to answer. Answer the questions carefully, using the case study text to support your arguments wherever appropriate. You can use your own knowledge to add extra information to that found in the case study itself.

Word Limit ? 300 words

Forced retirement at 65 to be scrapped

Hundreds of thousands of workers will no longer be forced to retire at 65, under proposals announced in July 2010. The compulsory retirement age of 65 is to be scrapped in 2011, with companies told to negotiate with their older staff over when they want to retire.

Ministers will say it is ?ridiculous? that a person is judged to be able to do his or her job the day before turning 65 and incapable the next. They have been unmoved by arguments from business that the default retirement age should increase in stages, to 66 then 67. ?It is not about moving it up bit by bit, or allowing some companies to go slower than others. They will be put on notice that it is going to be scrapped,? a UK government source told the Times.
A ?transitional arrangement? will be put in place from April next year so that companies can prepare for the change. That is likely to mean that from April companies will no longer be able to issue retirement notices to staff who turn 65 in six months? time. Staff who have already been informed by letter that they are retiring before the new law comes in may still have to go. Under the present law, an employer must issue written notification to retire at least six months before a member of staff turns 65. Staff have a right to request that they work beyond that date, but it is entirely up to the company whether it agrees. It is estimated that more than 100,000 people retired against their will last year.

The charity Age UK welcomed the news of the announcement as a victory in the battle against ageism. ?Age UK has fought a four-year campaign to overturn the decision to allow employers to force over 65s to retire,? said Michelle Mitchell, the charity?s directors. ?All the indications are that the Government will finally set a clear date for the abolition of this arbitrary and unfair law. This would be a huge victory for hundreds of thousands of employees who are at risk of being forced out of their jobs simply because of their age.?

The news was also welcomed by Pam Smith, who had to retire from her job as a financial controller of a manufacturing company in February 2010 after 24 years service. ?I certainly didn?t feel like celebrating the day I left?, she said. ?I wanted to stay on but the bosses refused. It?s a strange feeling being gradually edged out, and at times quite hurtful.?

Twelve per cent of workers are employed beyond the retirement age, according to the Office for National Statistics. That compares with 8 per cent in 1992. According to surveys, a quarter of men and two thirds of women over 50 say that they want to carry on working beyond the retirement age.
The main economic reason behind the need to remove the default retirement age is the growing elderly population set against a dwindling workforce. In 1901 only 5 per cent of the population was 65 or over, but by 1955 this had more than doubled to 11 per cent and is now 16 per cent. There are now four adults under 65 for every adult over 65 but this ratio is projected to be 3:1 within ten years and 2:1 within 30 years.

Questions
1.    Examine some of the advantages of removing the compulsory retirement age.
2.    Examine some of the disadvantages of removing the compulsory retirement age.
3.    Choose one other country and compare and contrast its approach to compulsory retirement with that of the UK.