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A recent case involving Asda and an employee who suffered from dementia has demonstrated the risks around even well-meaning discussions about when someone plans to give up work. Ellen Goodland advises what employers can and can’t do.
Although age discrimination has, by and large, been outlawed since 2006, it was only in 2011 that employers were prevented from retiring people because they had reached a certain age (albeit with some limited exceptions).
Up until then the standard employment contract would include a compulsory retirement age – usually the employee’s 65th birthday – at which point they would be expected to give up work.
Since then, employers have become used to operating without the option of a blanket retirement age, but tricky situations can still arise, as shown by the recent case of Hutchinson v Asda Stores.
Discrimination claim
Mrs Hutchinson had been employed by Asda as a shop floor assistant for 20 years. When she was in her early 70s, she started to exhibit symptoms of dementia. Over time, Mrs Hutchinson acknowledged her symptoms were worsening and her colleagues also noticed that she was getting more forgetful.
There then followed various discussions with her about her condition, during which time retirement was suggested as an option on more than one occasion.
Eventually, having brought an unsuccessful grievance for bullying and harassment due to her age and disability, she resigned and brought claims against Asda including for age and disa
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