ONE of the region’s biggest employers has made a U-turn over plans to force retirement on workers who have reached the age of 65.

North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) said it had reviewed its policy on enforced retirement for those who had reached the state retirement age, citing “recent and evolving legal guidelines”.

The county council had hoped to exploit a loophole in employment legislation by taking on young people to fill the gaps left by those forced to retire.

As many as 300 people could have been affected by enforced retirements if the plan had gone ahead.

A council employee, who spoke to The Northern Echo under condition of anonymity, said: “I was told I would be going at the end of March, and then I received a letter saying ‘sorry, you don’t have to go now’.

“I am not of an age where I can get another job easily, and I’m not ready to be sat at home. What’s more, I get a lot of satisfaction from my job.

“I am not one for anxiety, but I know other people who have been badly affected by this.”

In a statement, the county council said: “NYCC has decided to revert to a policy of not enforcing retirement at retirement age.

“The decision to enforce retirement in some – but by no means all – cases was the result of much consideration and discussion about the issues facing all age groups of people within North Yorkshire.

“The enforcement of the state retirement age was seen as a means of helping to encourage the recruitment of younger staff, thereby helping to tackle the problem of youth unemployment.

“However, uncertainties created by recent legal judgements and interpretations have led the county council to decide not to proceed [with enforced retirement] at this time.”

Mark Harrison, a spokesman for Unison, which represents many employees at NYCC, said: “We understand this is a temporary reprieve because the county council wants to see what happens elsewhere in the country with this issue.

“The union is caught between the two sides on this because we understand the frustrations of people over the age of 65 who want to continue to work but, at the same time, we applaud the council’s stance on trying to help unemployed young people in the region.”