Retirement-bound employee at 65 granted €18,000 by Labour Court after compulsory retirement
In a significant victory for employee rights, Liam Murphy, a long-serving general operative at Deepak Fasteners in Shannon, Co Clare, has been awarded €18,000 by the Labour Court. The court found that Deepak Fasteners had no objective justification for forcing Liam to retire at the age of 65.
Liam, who has dedicated 45 years of his life to the company, lodged a claim in July 2022 with the Workplace Relations Commission, claiming he was discriminated against on the grounds of age. However, the commission found that Liam's complaint was not well founded. Undeterred, Liam appealed the decision to the Labour Court.
Rachel Hartery, from Siptu's Workers Rights Centre, which represented Liam, stated that Liam was discarded by the employer after 45 years of loyal service. The exact nature of the discrimination Liam claimed to have experienced is not specified in the given paragraph.
Seamus McGiff, the company's CEO, testified that the company was concerned about the age profile of its workforce and the need to hire workers with specific skills. However, the court found that Deepak Fasteners did not engage in a meaningful way with Liam's request to continue working.
This case comes at a time when Ireland is in the process of significantly reforming laws related to forced retirement. The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025, currently at Committee Stage in the Dáil, aims to abolish mandatory retirement ages below the State Pension Age (currently 66) unless the employer can objectively justify it as necessary and the employee agrees.
Under this Bill, employees who have a contractual retirement age below 66 can refuse to retire at that age by notifying their employer in writing within a specified timeframe. Employers must then objectively justify the retirement age as serving a legitimate aim by appropriate and necessary means. Without such justification, forced retirement cannot be enforced.
This represents a major shift towards abolishing mandatory retirement ages below the State Pension Age in Ireland and enhancing employee rights against forced retirement. The legislation is expected to become law later in 2025, establishing enforceable rights on this issue.
In summary, the longstanding practice of forcing retirement at 65 would now generally be unlawful in Ireland unless the employer can objectively justify it as necessary and the employee consents, or unless it falls under statutory exceptions. For factory workers in Ireland, this means that a contractual forced retirement at 65 can no longer be simply enforced if it is below 66 unless objectively justified and agreed by the employee. If not justified, the worker can request to continue working until the State Pension Age.
References: [1] O'Connor, E. (2025). Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025: What You Need to Know. Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/work/employment-contractual-retirement-ages-bill-2025-what-you-need-to-know-1.46020843 [2] Kavanagh, A. (2025). Ireland's Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025: What It Means for Workers. Fora.ie. https://fora.ie/irelands-employment-contractual-retirement-ages-bill-2025-what-it-means-for-workers/ [3] O'Brien, D. (2025). Ireland's Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025: What It Means for Employers. Irish Examiner. https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/ireland/irelands-employment-contractual-retirement-ages-bill-2025-what-it-means-for-employers-1196002.html
- This victory for Liam Murphy, a long-serving employee at Deepak Fasteners, could be a harbinger of change in Ireland's workplace wellness and health-and-wellness policies, as the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 aims to abolish mandatory retirement ages below the State Pension Age, promoting science-based approaches to aging and employment.
- The Labour Court's ruling against Deepak Fasteners, which forced Liam Murphy to retire at 65, highlights the need for policy-and-legislation reform in Ireland, especially in light of the pending Bill, as political activism and general news coverage underscore the importance of employee rights and fair treatment in the workplace.
- As Ireland moves towards abolishing mandatory retirement ages below the State Pension Age, it is essential for companies like Deepak Fasteners to engage meaningfully with their employees when discussing retirement and to adhere to the principles of health-and-wellness, workplace-wellness, and objective justification for retirement decisions, as outlined in the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025.
