WRC found that an employee’s retirement at 65 constituted age discrimination where the employer failed to establish a clearly communicated and consistently applied mandatory retirement policy, awarding €25,000 in compensation.

The Complainant commenced employment with the Respondent in April 2011 and worked as a Food and Beverage Assistant. Upon reaching 65 in January 2024, he was informed that he was required to retire but was offered a further one-year fixed-term contract until January 2025. He maintained that he had never agreed to a compulsory retirement age and refused to sign the fixed-term contract because he believed he was entitled to continue working. When his request for a further extension was refused, he alleged that his employment had been