A COUNCIL manager is being forced to retire when he reaches 65 – even though the Government is raising the retirement age.

Glyn Darby is considering taking Romsey Town Council to an employment tribunal after it refused to let him stay on after his 65th birthday on October 31.

The popular Romsey Town Hall manager wanted to work on until next May at least when local authority elections will be held. The council insists it has followed the correct policies.

The move comes just weeks after Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan- Smith announced plans to raise the retirement age to 66.

Glyn said: “It has come as a surprise to me. The council has decided to implement what can only be described as an outdated and archaic policy.

“I don’t want to leave and a lot of people are supporting me. I am annoyed that I have got to go. I consider myself too young to retire and I will be seeking employment elsewhere.”

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Romsey Town Council’s clerk Judith Giles said all the correct procedures had been adhered to by the authority.

She said: “Romsey Town Council’s policy is to retire staff at the statutory retirement age 65. Mr Darby was offered work on a casual basis once he retired but he declined.”

The statutory retirement age was introduced in October 2006 to give employees a legal right and a formal procedure to request working past their employer’s normal retirement age. It requires the employer to consider all requests and to respond within a set time limit Anna Johns, from Hythe, has been at the forefront of a campaign to overturn the law. Hers was one of 18 cases taken to the High Court last year by campaigners fighting on behalf of elderly people determined to continue working.

They argued that the 2006 legislation was unlawful because it did not comply with a European Union directive on age discrimination.

However, judges agreed with the Government which had argued that member states were allowed differences in treatment on the grounds of age.

Hampshire-based DIY giant B&Q famously scrapped the statutory retirement age in the mid-1990s, leading to a flood of pensioners being able to work there. Now around a quarter of its workforce are over 50 with its oldest workers aged in their 90s. Bosses believe their skills and experience are invaluable in passing on knowledge and expertise to customers and younger staff members.