A factory worker who was forced to retire at 65 has been awarded €18,000 by the Labour Court.
Liam Murphy had worked as a general operative at Deepak Fasteners in Shannon, Co Clare for 45 years. When he turned 65 in February 2022, he asked to continue working but this was rejected by the company.
While Mr Murphy did not appeal that decision at the time, he lodged a claim in July of that year with the Workplace Relations Commission claiming he had been discriminated against on the grounds of age.
When the WRC found that his complaint was not well founded, he appealed the decision to the Labour Court.
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Company chief executive Seamus McGiff told the court the company was concerned about the age profile of his workforce and the need to make new hires with specific skills as the loss-making business tried to pivot in a new direction.
However, given that there was no mandatory retirement age in Mr Murphy’s contract of employment and there had been no issues with his performance, concentration or health and safety concerns, the court found in his favour.
It found the company “did not engage in any meaningful way with the complainant’s request” and concluded “that there was no objective justification” the company could rely on to support its decision to force him to retire simply because he reached the age of 65.
Welcoming the decision, Rachel Hartery of trade union Siptu’s Workers Rights Centre, which represented Mr Murphy, said: “Our member was simply discarded by this employer after 45 years of loyal service, as was evidenced by the complete lack of consideration given to his requests to work on for one year beyond age 65.”
Siptu said there appeared to be no urgency in Government to advance legislation introduced earlier this year to allow but not compel workers to remain in their employment until they reach the State pension age.
