Balancing succession planning with no mandatory retirement
Question: Is there a way to make inquiries as to when older employees plan to retire for the purposes of resource planning without risking being seen as pressuring them and facing charges of age discrimination?
Answer: Not surprisingly, this is a very touchy subject with significant potential ramifications. As the question implies, an employer cannot assume an employee will retire at any particular age.
However, as the workforce ages, succession planning has become more and more important. It is a legitimate tool, so long as it is done appropriately.
Within the context of this question, it would generally not be appropriate to ask when an employee plans to retire, but it would be appropriate to have discussions with respect to the employee’s plans, more generally.
Many older workers have become disengaged, and it can be beneficial for everyone if a plan is developed that will allow them to provide value to the organization by adopting the different roles, such as that of mentor. An employer can certainly broach such an option with the employee, and discuss their future plans.
However, while it may be feasible to have a general discussion and get a sense of the employee’s desires and intentions, it will not be possible to force her to commit to a certain amount of time or a specific retirement date, unless she does so voluntarily and of her own volition.
These are all discussions that should be approached very cautiously, but in order to ensure that your business and succession planning is adequately addressed, the issues can be raised.
However, the employer should never be seen as pressuring the employee to retire, or otherwise forcing her to take any action based upon her age.
