Government plans to do away with forced retirement

London: Workers would no longer be forced to retire at 65 under radical new government proposals.

Older people would also be given the right to request flexible hours from their employer.

Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman says a major shake-up in the law is vital to smash the idea that people are "past it" once they hit 65.

Harman, who was to announce a fast-track government review of the retirement age yesterday, said it should be scrapped.

Britons would not be forced to work beyond 65, but would have the option to choose to — meaning they could stay on into their 70s or even their 80s.

Like parents with young children, they should also get a legal right to ask to work part-time or from home, or make a range of other variations to their hours, Harman said.

Affected staff

The change in the law would cover staff who have already signed contracts that say they will retire at the normal age.

It would not alter the point at which the state pension can be claimed.

Latest figures show a record 1.4 million workers have reached the state pension age of 60 for women and 65 for men. Companies are currently not compelled to agree to their requests to work on, but Harman said the government wanted to give people the legal right to do so.

Her plans will alarm employers. Business leaders have insisted that companies need some sort of "cut-off point" when older workers must retire.

There are concerns that firms would be faced with "bed-blocking" older workers refusing to go.

They will also be dismayed that Harman is proposing further extensions to flexible working rights.

While employers will be able to decline the requests, they will have to give one of eight valid reasons for doing so.

Harman, who is also equality minister, admitted: "It is a difficult thing for employers, it is challenging to business, but at the end of the day practice has to change as the facts are changing.

"The retirement age is arbitrary, it bears no relation to people's ability. Think of people running their own business — they don't shut up shop suddenly when they reach the age of 65.

Massive change

"People are remaining active and healthy well into their older years. But at the moment there is no legal backing for you if you want to stay at work, so what we are proposing is a massive public policy change.

"We do want people, if they want to, to be able to stay working for longer and flexible working is a way that enables them to do that.

"They could say they have decided they want to work three days a week and it would then be down to the employer to demonstrate why the business couldn't cope with that."

Cameron pledge

Immigration would be cut by 75 per cent under a Conservative government to prevent Britain's population hitting 70 million, David Cameron said.

He said he wanted to see annual net immigration levels fall from the 200,000 figure of recent years to the "tens of thousands" seen under the Thatcher and Major governments.

Reducing levels to those of the 1990s would mean around 50,000 immigrants a year to be allowed to settle in Britain, a fall of three-quarters on numbers seen under Labour.

Cameron made the pledge in a wide-ranging interview in which he underlined Tory plans to cut the £178 billion (Dh1.05 trillion) budget deficit further and faster than Labour.