Richard
Nicolle,
employment
partner
at
Denton
Wilde
Sapte
says:
"Today's
decision
of
the
European
Court
of
Justice
in
the
Heyday
case
will
come
as
little
surprise
to
those
who
have
followed
the
case
since
the
Advocate-General's
opinion
last
September.
As
expected,
the
Court
made
the
following
points:
UK
employers
are
able
to
retire
employees
at
age
65
lawfully;
It
is
very
likely
that
the
High
Court
will
find
that
the
Government
did
have
a
legitimate
aim
behind
the
compulsory
retirement
age.
However,
given
the
current
economic
climate,
the
ruling
will
be
disappointing
news
for
some
pensioners
who
would
choose
to
work
beyond
retirement.
Hundreds
of
legal
actions
were
stayed
pending
the
ECJ's
decision.
Pensioners
who
have
been
forced
to
retire
await
the
outcome
of
the
High
Court's
final
decision
and,
therefore,
the
outcome
of
their
compensation
claims."
Denton
Wilde
Sapte's
employment
department
is
well-placed
to
comment
on
this
legislation.
Clients
speaking
to
Chambers
UK
Guide
to
the
Legal
Profession,
describe
the
team
as "tremendously
responsive
and
helpful
-
providing
a
senior
level
of
advice
and
support
and
working
in a
collaborative
way."
The
group
handles
a
significant
amount
of
work
for
individuals,
acting
for
senior
management
in
terminations.
Sainsbury's,
Rentokil
Initial,
Honda,
United
Airlines
and
Universal
Pictures
International
are
some
of
the
department's
largest
clients.
The
team
was
also
successful
in
being
appointed
to
the
employment
panel
of
the
Pension
Protection
Fund.
Recently,
the
team
advised
on
religious
and
age
discrimination
issues
over
the
past
year,
and
handled
significant
transactional
work.
International
employment
advice
is
co-ordinated
through
the
London
office
and
work
includes
pan-European
redundancy
programmes
and
advising
US
clients
with
UK
operations.
Richard
Nicholle
has
significant
experience
of
all
areas
of
contentious
and
non
contentious
employment
law.
Pauline
McArdle
is
described
by
commentators
as
having
"energy
and
vim"
and
she
demonstrates
"great
skill
in
negotiating
tricky
cases."
She
advises
both
public
and
private
sector
employers,
as
well
as
senior
executives,
and
recent
highlights
include
advising
Honda
on
strategic
employment
matters,
acting
for
MGM
on
termination
issues,
advising
United
Airlines
on a
proposed
strike
action
and
handling
a
High
Court
bonus
claim
for
a
senior
executive.
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