Can we extend our normal contractual retirement age to deal with the increase in state retirement age?

Irish law does not provide for a ‘normal retirement age’, rather it is a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee. A contractual retirement age can be an express or implied contractual term or may be provided by custom and practice, collective agreement or statutory instrument.

As with any term of employment, an employer is generally not entitled to unilaterally change these contractual terms unless the right to amend the retirement age is expressly referred to in the contract or written statement. Failure to obtain employee consent to changing contractual terms may expose the employer to litigation or industrial action.

Further, case law from the Court of Justice of the