The 2025 Act adopts a consent-based approach to the issue of contractual retirement ages. It provides that where an employee is subject to a contractual retirement age (“CRA”) that is less than the pensionable age and does not consent to retire at the CRA, they must notify their employer in writing in advance of reaching the CRA.

The objective of the legislation is to allow, but not compel, an employee to remain in employment until they reach the qualifying age for the State pension. The 2025 Act only applies to the employment gap between when an employee reaches the CRA for their job but has not yet reached the qualifying age for the State pension. It also only applies to CRAs which are lower than the State pension age and not those set by statute, e.g., those which apply to some public servants, such as the Defence Forces personnel.

For a detailed consideration of the 2025 Act, see our Insights Blog post here: Changes to retirement ages on the way: The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 is published

Revised Code of Practice on Longer Working published

As we prepare for the commencement of the 2025 Act on 29 June 2026, the revised Code of Practice on Longer Working (the “Code”) has now been published and will also come into effect on that date. The purpose of the updated Code is to provide guidance to employers, employees and their representatives on the best principles and practices to follow during engagement between employers and employees in the run-up to retirement. The Code now offers guidance on:

• employees who are approaching their CRA for their job, which is less than the qualifying age for the State pension (currently 66 years), but wish to continue working beyond this date and to whom the 2025 Act applies; and
• those employees aged 66 and older who wish to continue in employment.
  

Guidance on the use of the 2025 Act

Section 4 of the updated Code provides guidance on the use of the 2025 Act. The 2025 Act provides that where an employee is subject to a CRA that is less than the State pensionable age and does not consent to retire at the CRA, they must notify their employer in writing that they do not consent to retire at the CRA:

• at least three months but not more than one year before the date on which they would reach the CRA; or
• where the employer notification period is greater than 3 months, not less than the employer notification period or the period of 6 months, whichever is shorter.

The employee should also indicate the legal basis for the notification not to retire, as set out in section 5(1) of the 2025 Act. Employees can avail of this new right on or after 29 June 2026. Considering the minimum notification period of three months, the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has confirmed that a contractual retirement date of 29 September 2026 is the earliest to which the 2025 Act applies.

An employer who receives a notification may not enforce the CRA where the employee is less than the pensionable age unless the employee’s retirement can be objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary. Where an employer proposes to enforce the CRA for an employee, they must provide a reasoned written reply to the employee setting out justification for enforcing the retirement based on age within one month of having received the notification. Where an employer accepts an employee’s notification request or agrees to a new date for retirement, whichever is the earlier, arrangements should be made to reflect the employee’s continuation in employment in their contract of employment.

The Code also states that employers may wish to review and revise existing contracts of employment and retirement policies which contain a CRA clause to reflect the consent-based framework specified in the 2025 Act. It further recommends that organisations develop clear internal procedures and templates to handle notification requests and company responses. In addition, as a matter of best practice, organisations should disseminate information about the relevant provisions in the 2025 Act to their supervisors and staff through awareness sessions and training courses.

Utilising the skills and experience of older workers

Section 5 of the revised Code focuses on how best to maximise the experience and skills of older workers, and to harness and accommodate those experiences and skills to the advantage of the business. In order to achieve this, it suggests the following measures:

• training of management at all levels about age diversity and the benefits of such diversity;
• encouraging knowledge and experience sharing and utilising the skills and experiences of all workers;
• exploring measures around flexible working patterns;
• “proofing” policies and procedures for age bias; and/or
• encouraging a culture that appreciates the continuing need for relevant training and development amongst all age groups.
  

Objective justification

Section 6 of the Code deals with objective justification. Compulsory retirement ages must be capable of objective justification both by the existence of a legitimate aim and evidence that the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary. The Code lists the following as examples of legitimate aims:

• intergenerational fairness (allowing younger workers to progress);
• motivation and dynamism through the increased prospect of promotion;
• health and safety (generally in more safety-critical occupations);
• creation of a balanced age structure in the workforce;
• personal and professional dignity (avoiding capability issues with older employees); or
• succession planning.

It is important to note that the objective justification test for contractual age-related retirements is differentiated in the Code between the treatment of workers who come within the scope of the 2025 Act and those who are aged 66 and older who wish to request longer working. The 2025 Act requires the objective justification test to be applied to the retirement of the employee concerned, while the application of the objective justification test for workers aged 66 and older relates to fixing different retirement ages for various classes or descriptions of employees.

Standard retirement arrangements

Section 7 of the Code deals with standard retirement arrangements. It states that good workforce planning is a critical element in any workplace and confirms that, where no contractual retirement date exists, it is reasonable as part of workforce planning for an employer to raise and discuss with the employee their retirement intentions.

The Code states that employers could consider the provision of certain supports, for example, suitable pre-retirement courses, a flexible or part-time working arrangement where an employee is approaching the CRA for the organisation, counselling etc., essentially with a view to assisting the transition to retirement. It is recommended that an employer should provide clear information on how retirement procedures work, both at recruitment and at regular occasions throughout an employee’s career. At the very least, appropriate guidance on how reliable and accurate information can be sourced should be made available to the employee.

The retirement process

Section 8 of the Code deals with the retirement process. The Code states that it is good practice for an employer to notify an employee of the intention to retire them on the contractual retirement date within six to twelve months of that date. While the initial notification should be in writing, it should be followed up with a face-to-face meeting, which should focus on addressing the following:

• clear understanding of the retirement date and any possible issues arising;
• exploration of measures (subject to agreement) which would support the pathway to retirement. For example, flexible working, looking at alternative roles up to the date of retirement;
• transitional arrangements in regard to the particular post; and
• assistance around guidance and information.
  

Request to work longer

Section 9 of the Code deals with requests to work longer, whether under the 2025 Act or in respect of employees aged 66 and older. It states that any such requests should be considered carefully. There are a number of matters to be considered by the employer and employee in this regard, including the following:

For the employee

• Is the employee confident that he/she can continue to perform the role to the required standard?
• Can flexible working options or alternative roles be considered?
• What is the duration of the extension being sought?
• Are there any pension implications?
• Are there contract of employment implications?
  

For the employer

• Are there good grounds on which to accept or refuse the request to work longer, e.g. can the retirement be justified on a legitimate and objective basis? It is important to note that a fixed-term contract post-retirement age must be objectively justified.
• What are the objective criteria applicable to the request? This should form the basis of any assessment of a request to work beyond retirement age to ensure an equal and consistent approach to addressing this and other future requests.
• How would the arrangements for the employee remaining on in the workforce be contractually framed (e.g. continuation of an existing contract of employment or post-retirement fixed-term contract)?
• Could granting the request be on the basis of a more flexible working arrangement (e.g. less than full hours or an alternative role)?
  
  

Request to work longer procedure (for employees aged 66 and older)

Section 10 deals with requests to work longer from employees aged 66 and older. In these cases, the Code recommends that the parties engage as follows:

1. The employee should make the request in writing, not less than three months from the intended retirement date. This letter should be followed up with a meeting between the employer and employee. This meeting gives both the employee an opportunity to advance the case and allows the employer to consider it. It is important that the employee is listened to and that any decision made is on fair and objective grounds.
2. The employer’s decision should be communicated to the employee as early as practical following the meeting.
3. Should the decision be to offer a fixed-term contract post-CRA, the period should be specified, setting out the timeframe, and the legal grounds underpinning the new contract should be made clear. It is good practice to include a reference that the decision is made solely having regard to the case being made by the employee and does not apply universally.
4. Where the decision is to refuse the request, the grounds for the decision should be set out and communicated in a meeting with the employee. The applicant should have recourse to an appeals mechanism, for example, through the normal established grievance procedures in the organisation.
5. An employee may be accompanied to a meeting by a work colleague or union representative to discuss a request to the employer to facilitate working longer and in any appeals process around the same.
   

Retirement policies and templates

Finally, section 11 of the Code helpfully contains two template documents. One is a template policy guideline document for employers on CRAs, while the other is a template document for an employee notifying an employer that they do not consent to retire at their CRA.

Remedies

The 2025 Act prohibits penalisation of an employee who makes such a notification. Forms of penalisation include but are not limited to: suspension, lay-off or dismissal or the threat thereof; demotion or loss of opportunity for promotion or withholding of promotion; transfer of duties, change of location of place of work, reduction in wages or change in working hours; the imposition or the administering of any discipline, reprimand or other penalty (including a financial penalty); coercion or intimidation, harassment or ostracism; and discrimination, disadvantage or unfair treatment.

Where an employee feels that their notification request has not been dealt with in line with the legislation and/or with the Code, the WRC encourages employers and employees to try to resolve any complaints at local level in the first instance. Where the matter is not resolved satisfactorily at local level, or through the company’s normal established grievance procedure, an employee may refer a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (the “WRC”) within a period of 6 months beginning on the day immediately following the date of the occurrence of the breach, extendable to a maximum of 12 months for reasonable cause.

The WRC may direct an employer to comply with specific sections of the 2025 Act and/or award compensation to the employee, not exceeding 104 weeks’ remuneration or €40,000, whichever is the greater.

Offences

Significantly, the 2025 Act introduces a new offence in respect of which both bodies corporate and individuals can be prosecuted. The 2025 Act provides that an employer who, without reasonable cause, fails to provide an employee with a reasoned written reply within one month of receiving the employee’s notification will be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a class A fine (i.e. a fine not exceeding €5,000) or imprisonment for up to 12 months or both.

The offences apply to both the body corporate itself and, where proven to have been committed with the consent or connivance of any person, to directors, managers, secretaries or other officers of the body corporate and anyone purporting to act in any such capacity.

How can employers prepare?

With the 2025 Act commencing on 29 June 2026, employers should act immediately to ensure they are fully compliant. With this in mind, employers should consider taking the following steps:

• ensure they are familiar with current CRAs within their organisation;
• update policies/procedures/manuals/employee handbooks to reflect the new procedures around employee notifications and responses in line with the 2025 Act;
• re-acquaint themselves with the requirement for objective justification and using means that are appropriate and necessary to achieve legitimate aims in enforcing retirement policy in an organisation;
• consider providing training to HR or line managers on their new obligations; and
• maintain good records from engagements with employees on notifications, as well as any consultations or advice sought and decisions issued.
  

If you require further information, please contact a member of the Employment Law Group or your usual Arthur Cox contact.

The content of this briefing is provided for information purposes only and is not legal or other advice.