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Introduction
Throughout the developed world, governments are seeking to raise older people's participation in the labour market through a range of policy instruments. One profession that is commonly subject to lower mandatory retirement ages is public safety officer. Police services and fire fighting have usually been considered physically demanding enough to justify restrictions on older serving officers. Countries that have mandatory retirement ages for public safety officers have reviewed policies, and generally (though not exclusively) found them to fit within "Bona Fide Occupational Qualification" reasons due to the physical demands of the job.
However, there have also been strong countervailing arguments that age itself is a poor indicator of capability; and mandatory retirement is an inefficient instrument for weeding out incapable public safety officers ([13] Gokhale, 2004; [21] Landy, 1992; [25] Nelson, 1981; [27] ODPM, 2004). Physical stress tests and performance measures have been cited as more accurate predictors for incapacity ([7] Davis and Dotson, 1987; [31] Waldman and Avolio, 1986).
This article contributes to the debate on mandatory retirement age on public safety officers through interviews with Human Resource (HR) managers in the London Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) in 2005 and 2007. MPS, like all police authorities in the UK, has a mandatory retirement age of 60 for constables. Police authorities in England and Wales are guided by a Home Office policy paper ([14] Home Office, 2007a), while Scottish police authorities rely on a similar document issued by the Scottish Executive. ([29] Scottish Public Pensions Agency, 2006) Under the [9] Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (2005) (hereafter referred to as the age regulations), employers are permitted to compulsorily retire employees from the age of 65 ([9] DTI, 2005, para 1.10). Mandatory retirement ages below 65 are permitted only if it is determined that the lower age is objectively justified ([9] DTI, 2005, para 6.1.4) The government has set a "tough test" for mandatory retirement ages lower than 65 ([2] Age Positive Campaign, 2006).
In the MPS case study, it was found that mandatory retirement has been used less in order to remove police officers from physically demanding activities; and more as a way to manage workforce planning for an occupational sector in which recruitment and retirement occur at relatively young ages. Abolishing retirement age is...