Mandatory Retirement

 

Nova Scotia eliminated mandatory retirement in 2009.

• Amendments to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act removed the exemptions that allowed mandatory retirement.
• Amendments to the Nova Scotia Labour Standards Code removed the exemption allowing employees who reach retirement age to be terminated without notice.

These changes were made to allow people to continue to work if they desire to do so. Early retirement benefits can be offered to employees as an incentive to retire, but an employee cannot be forced to retire.

 

FAQs

 

Is the legislation retroactive?

No. Former employers are not required to re-employ staff who retired before the legislation comes into force on July 1, 2009.

 

Can people be forced to work past the age of 65?

No. People can choose to retire when they wish.

 

Does this apply to both public and private sector employees?

Yes. This change means that both public and private sector employees working in provincial jurisdiction now have the choice to work past their previous usual retirement age. The amendment will help employers to retain the corporate memory and experience mature workers possess by enabling them to remain in the workplace.

 

How will this change impact younger workers?

This is about giving mature workers, as well as their younger co-workers, opportunities to contribute to the workplace. While it is a significant change with respect to protection against discrimination on the basis of age, only a small percentage of employees are likely to continue working beyond the usual retirement age.

 

Do the amendments affect pension plans?

No. Existing pension rights are protected. Bona fide pension plans continue to be able to make distinctions on the basis of age. Provincial changes do not affect entitlement under the Canada Pension Plan, as it is a federal program. For more information about pensions, contact the Superintendent of Pensions.

 

Do employers have to accommodate age-related disabilities or limitations?

Yes. Mature workers are subject to the same Human Rights Act standard of accommodation as other workers. The duty to accommodate means there is a legal duty to adjust a policy, practice or service to meet a person’s special needs because of their age. For example, an older person’s special needs may require that changes be made to the usual way things are done.

Often, reasonable and practical adjustments can be found when the employer and the employee work together to accommodate a special need. Unless adjusting to their needs would result in undue hardship, refusing to take reasonable steps to accommodate the special needs of an older person could be discriminatory.

 

Are any jobs exempted from the elimination of mandatory retirement?

There may be some jobs with age limits because of the duties or needs of work or because of safety issues. These true demands of a job are called bona fide occupational requirements. Mandatory retirement will be allowed if there is a bona fide occupational requirement which supports an age limit.

A bona fide occupational requirement is an employment standard that makes distinctions on certain grounds, including age, but that is allowed under the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act because of the nature of the employment. The employer must establish:

• that the employer adopted the requirement for a purpose rationally connected to the performance of the job;
• that the employer adopted the requirement in an honest and good faith belief that it was necessary to the fulfilment of that legitimate work-related purpose; and
• that the requirement is reasonably necessary to the accomplishment of that legitimate work-related purpose. It must be demonstrated that it is impossible to accommodate individual employees without imposing undue hardship on the employer.

All Canadian jurisdictions have bona fide occupational requirement exceptions in their human rights legislation. These exceptions may permit mandatory retirement if the employer can show that the above test for a bona fide occupational requirement has been met.

 

Where can I find more information on the elimination of mandatory retirement?

Contact the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.