The Labour Court rejected Denis O’Keeffe’s appeal against the dismissal of his age discrimination complaint against Pat O'Donnell & Company. The determination was signed on 28 September 2021.
O’Keeffe said requiring him to retire at 65 was age discrimination and sought compensation. Pat O'Donnell & Company said service engineers had a mandatory retirement age of 65, supported by succession planning and the safety critical nature of their work.
The Court found that the age limit applied to service engineers and was justified by the need to maintain a flow of qualified staff and avoid requiring employees to continue working until they could no longer perform their duties. It confirmed the adjudication officer’s finding that the complaint was not well founded.