If you make a person retire (in the correct manner & notification requirements) but they don’t actually retire – could they claim a redundancy payment when they leave?

The key issue here is to determine whether the reason for the dismissal of the employee in these circumstances is retirement or redundancy, both of which are potentially fair reasons for dismissal.

Since the introduction of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 in October 2006, the upper age limit of 65 to claim a statutory redundancy payment has been removed. Therefore, strictly speaking and subject to what follows, if redundancy is determined as the reason for dismissal, this employee, even if he or she is over 65, could be entitled to claim a redundancy payment.

However, it will be important to determine whether a retirement dismissal can still be relied upon