Reaching retirement age is not in itself a reason for terminating an employment relationship

An employment relationship may be terminated in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Labor Law, i.e., by notice from one party or by mutual agreement. Furthermore, an employer may terminate an employment contract only in the cases specified in the Labor Law, and reaching retirement age is not one of the cases specified in the Labor Law. 

An employee is not obliged to inform the employer about reaching retirement age. 

If an employee plans to retire upon reaching retirement age, the employee must terminate the employment relationship himself. In accordance with Article 100 of the Labor Law, the notice period for an employee is one month. If the employee has decided to retire upon reaching retirement age and retirement age begins, for example, on December 1, then notice should be submitted to the employer already on November 1. At the same time, it is possible for the employee and employer to mutually agree on a different specific date for the termination of the employment relationship.

However, if an employee does not wish to retire upon reaching retirement age, he/she continues to work as before. The employer has no grounds to terminate the employee's employment contract. If the employer wishes to terminate the employment relationship solely on the basis that the employee has reached retirement age, this would essentially constitute discrimination against the employee on the basis of age, which is a significant violation of the Labor Law.

An employee who has reached retirement age may be dismissed in exactly the same circumstances as those in which an employer is entitled to terminate the employment contract of any other employee, namely, only if there is an objectively justified reason, such as the employee's state of health, which prevents them from performing their work duties properly. However, it is important to note that even in this case, whether the employee's health condition actually prevents them from performing their job duties does not depend solely on the employer's opinion, but must be confirmed by a doctor's opinion. Moreover, according to the Labor Law, even if a doctor's opinion confirms that an employee is no longer able to perform their job duties due to their health condition, termination of the employment contract is only permissible if the employer is unable to employ the employee in another position in the same or another company with the employee's consent. 

It should be noted that there are also some exceptions where the maximum age at which a person can hold a certain position is already specified in the regulatory act. For example, the Military Service Law stipulates the maximum age at which a person can perform military duties (45–70 years, depending on rank). Similarly, the Law on Judicial Power sets a maximum age for judges (70 years), and the Office of the Prosecutor Law sets a maximum age for prosecutors (65 years).

​Author​: Dace Drice​, ​Attorney-at-law