The WRC has ordered Rosderra Irish Meats Group to pay Brendan Beirne €30,000 compensation after finding that requiring him to retire at 65 amounted to age discrimination. The decision was dated 7 March 2023.
Beirne said he had asked to continue working beyond 65 and that other employees had been allowed to do so. The company said its retirement age was 65 and argued that the policy supported succession planning and other workforce aims. The adjudication officer accepted that the company had reasons for allowing some specialist employees to stay longer, but found it had not explained its specific grounds for refusing Beirne’s request before making that decision.
The officer found that the company’s general reasons did not justify refusing Beirne’s request without first presenting the specific grounds to him. The Employment Equality Act prohibits discrimination at work, subject to certain exceptions, including objectively justified retirement arrangements.