An impending review of the law on compulsory retirement may yield a "massive policy change" according to deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman.
Under laws governing the Default Retirement Age, workers can be forced to retire at 65 regardless of their own wishes. Employers have no obligation to provide redundancy pay in these circumstances. The law's compliance with European rules on discrimination were tested last year, but presiding judge Mr Justice Blake found that there was no discrepancy.
But at the end of the case the judge suggested that there may be "a compelling case" for changing the law on other grounds.
A number of age-related charities have publicly expressed concern that the law devalues the contribution made by older workers. Ms Harman seemed to support this view in a speech today, during which she said: "Think of people running their own business - they do not shut up shop suddenly when they reach the age of 65.
"At the moment there is no legal backing for you if you want to stay at work, so what we are proposing is a massive public policy change."
It had previously been suggested that the Default Retirement Age would be scrapped in order to help repair the country's ailing finances. A review of the law is expected to be completed this year.
