For lazy employers, last week’s decision by the European Court of Justice’s Advocate General to stay the course with the compulsory retirement age was certainly cause for celebration. There’s no need to effectively manage employee performance, no cause to hide blatant favouring of younger workers and no reason to not ignore workers of potential recruits who are a few years out from an artificial ‘sell-by’ date.

It’s narrow-sighted response to a variety of societal and financial challenges. Among them: pensions aren’t what they used to be; why sentence workers who don’t have the luxury of final salary schemes or extravagant salaries to a much lower standard of living?

Every employee - regardless of age, background, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, etc - needs effective performance management. Many in the workforce should get the sack for being slow, doddery and non-productive when they’re 35, not 65. Why penalise sharp, motivated and yes, even ambitious workers for an out-of-date stereotype?

A compulsory retirement age is a form of mental terrorism which encourages a ‘coast to retirement’ mentality at a time when the UKL needs greater productivity the most.

DeeDee Doke

Editor