Compulsory or mandatory retirement, as a term defined in this article, allows an employer to unilaterally terminate an employee's employment contract on the grounds that the conditions for old-age retirement are met. There are two known forms: First, an ex lege termination of an employment contract on the date on which the conditions for old-age retirement are met and, second employer's optional termination of the contract of employment. The employer may or may not take advantage of this option. Mandatory retirement can represent a violation of the prohibition of unequal treatment based on the personal circumstance of age, which is admissible under certain conditions set in international law and the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia.
According to Act on Balancing Public Finances, Act on Measures in the Area of Wages and Other Labor Costs for 2016 and Other Measures in the Public Sector and Act on Measures in the Area of Wages and Other Labor Costs for 2017 and Other Measures in the Public Sector the employment contract of a civil servant was terminated ex lege. The Constitutional Court of Republic of Slovenia has ruled that the termination of employment contract based on the Act on Balancing Public Finances doesn't constitute a breach of the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of age and of compulsory retirement. It does not force the civil servant to withdraw from the labour market, as he is is entitled to an old-age pension.
The Act on intervention measures to help mitigate the consequences of the second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic on the other hand offered the employer the possibility of terminating the employment contract of an employee who qualified for old-age pension without explaining the reason for the termination. The latter constituted a serious breach of Article 24 of the ECHR and the ILO Convention 158.
In times of economic crisis or poor financial performance, the legislator firstly limits the right to retirement, primarily for the reason of ensuring the sustainability of public finances and because of the high level of unemployment among the young people. A potential lower unemployment rate among younger people due to compulsory retirement does not automatically constitute in a greater sustainability of the pension fund due to the paid contributions of insured persons, as the number of pensioners entitled to a pension increases. At the same time, the Act on Pension and Disability Insurance and other related laws provided for a series of measures that reward continued activity on the labor market even after fulfilling the conditions for old-age retirement. The latter contradiction creates anomalies in the labor market and mistrust among insured persons and pension beneficiaries.
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