Government Publish Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025
Ministers Peter Burke, responsible for Enterprise, Tourism, and Employment, and Alan Dillon, overseeing Small Business and Retail, have introduced the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025.
This proposed law will grant employees whose employment contracts stipulate a retirement age of 65 or younger the option to continue working until the State Pension Age of 66, should they choose to do so. Upon its implementation, this legislation will establish a new employment entitlement, empowering, but not requiring, individuals to remain employed until reaching the State Pension Age.
The Bill introduces a legal clause stating that employers are prohibited from enforcing a contractual retirement age below the State Pension Age if the employee does not agree to retire.
The key features of the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 include:
- Employees subject to a contractual retirement age below the State Pension Age can formally notify their employer in writing that they do not consent to retire at the contractual age.
- If, after receiving this notification, an employer still intends to enforce the contractual retirement age, they must furnish the employee with a written, reasoned response before proceeding.
- Employers cannot enforce the contractual retirement age unless they can demonstrate that the individual employee’s contractual retirement age is objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim, and that the methods used to achieve that aim are suitable and necessary.
- Employees will have the right to file complaints and seek remedies through the Workplace Relations Act for violations of this legislation.
- This Bill does not affect retirement ages mandated by existing laws, such as those applicable to certain public sector workers.”
Online Gender Pay Gap Portal to go live in the Autumn
On International Women’s Day, Minister Norma Foley, Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration, unveiled the government’s plan to launch a centralised gender pay gap reporting portal in the autumn. This significant initiative will consolidate reports from approximately 6,000 public and private sector organisations, moving away from the current fragmented system where organisations publish data individually on their websites.
The primary objective of this online portal is to enhance transparency and accessibility regarding gender pay disparities. By aggregating all reports into a single, searchable database, the government aims to:
- Increase Public Awareness: Draw heightened attention to the persistent issue of the gender pay gap, fostering greater public scrutiny and accountability.
- Facilitate Data Analysis: Enable researchers, journalists, and the public to conduct comprehensive analyses of gender pay trends across various sectors and industries.
- Promote Informed Decision-Making: Empower individuals to make informed decisions regarding employment and career choices based on transparent pay data.
The portal will include functionalities that enable users to filter and sort data by organisation size, industry, and other relevant criteria. Detailed specifications and user guidelines for the portal will be released in the coming months, providing organisations with ample time to prepare.
Furthermore, Minister Foley confirmed that the updated regulations for this year will mandate organisations to submit their gender pay gap reports through the new portal by the end of November. This effectively sets a five-month window for compliance, a reduction from the previous six-month period. This deadline is set to ensure that the data is available to the public as quickly as possible.
While mandatory submission will be through the new central portal, organisations retain the option to publish their reports, along with supplementary contextual information, on their own websites, allowing for more detailed explanations of their specific circumstances and initiatives to address pay disparities. This dual approach aims to balance standardised reporting with organisational autonomy.”
Adare can Help
Our team of Employment Law and Human Resource experts can be your HR partners and guide you through compliance, ensuring your business knows its obligations, staying protected and informed. Reach out to us at (01) 561 3594 or info@adarehrm.ie for support tailored to your needs. Learn more about our services at www.adarehrm.ie.