Can an employee who has reached retirement age be dismissed: What does the law say?
Can an employee who has reached retirement age be dismissed solely due to their age? This question is relevant for many employees and employers. Under current labor legislation, reaching retirement age is not defined as a separate ground for terminating an employment contract at the employer's initiative.
In other words, an employment contract cannot be unilaterally terminated solely because an employee has reached retirement age.
What is established in current legislation?
The grounds for terminating an employment contract at the employer's initiative are defined in Article 161 of the Labor Code.
Among the current norms, the employee reaching retirement age is not indicated as a separate ground. In this regard, an employee who has reached retirement age enjoys labor rights just like other employees.
This situation differs from the procedure in the old Labor Code. In the new code, reaching retirement age itself is not established as an independent ground for terminating an employment contract at the employer's initiative.
What if the employee does not meet work requirements?
There is an important nuance here.
The fact that an employee who has reached retirement age cannot be dismissed for their age does not mean they cannot be dismissed under any circumstances.
If other legal grounds provided for in the Labor Code exist, the employment contract may be terminated. For example, the employee's inadequacy for the position held or the work performed due to insufficient qualifications is considered one of such grounds.
However, the employer cannot justify this situation with a mere general statement that "the employee cannot handle the job."
The employer must prove unfitness
This issue is clearly explained in Resolution No. 26 of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated November 20, 2023.
According to it, the termination of an employment contract on the grounds of unfitness for the position is permitted only if the employee is unable to handle the specific work required by the employment contract.
Furthermore, the employee's unfitness must be confirmed by concrete facts.
In particular, the following documents may be evaluated as evidence:
audit reports;
memorandums from the direct supervisor or controller;
reports;
certification documents;
documents confirming poor quality of work performed;
data indicating non-fulfillment of work volume or production quotas.
As the Plenum of the Supreme Court emphasized, the conclusion of the certification commission can also serve as one of the pieces of evidence confirming an employee's insufficient qualifications.
When labor discipline is violated, the situation is different
It is important to distinguish between an employee's age and labor discipline issues.
If an employee culpably fails to perform or improperly performs labor duties, disciplinary measures provided for by legislation may be applied. The Plenum of the Supreme Court has also clarified that terminating an employment contract under certain grounds in Part 2 of Article 161 of the Labor Code has the character of a disciplinary penalty.
Therefore, in such a situation, the issue is not whether the employee has reached retirement age, but whether they have violated specific labor duties.
The most important conclusion
Reaching retirement age is not an automatic ground for dismissal.
An employer cannot dismiss an employee solely on the grounds that they have "reached retirement age." However, if other grounds provided for by legislation exist—such as the employee's unfitness for the position or violation of labor duties—they may be applied in the established manner.
In doing so, the employer must substantiate each case with documents and observe the legal procedure for terminating the employment contract. The Plenum of the Supreme Court has also instructed to pay special attention to the legality of terminating the employment contract in disputes related to reinstatement at work.
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