Here at Obiter HQ, we are always keen to applaud firms that make their marketing material more memorable, bombarded as we are with look-alike newsletters and brochures. The employment department at City firm Lewis Silkin has always been among the leaders in this respect, and has published a 'best of' compilation to mark the 40th edition of its Employment Newsnotes publication. In the week Sir Paul McCartney reached his 64th birthday, one of our favourites was the ditty based on Lennon and McCartney's 'When I'm sixty-four' composed by the team for its winter 2004/05 edition, when the government had just set 65 as a 'default' mandatory retirement age under age discrimination laws.

'When I get older, losing my flair/Not so long from now/Will you still be paying me a salary/Decent bonus, gym subsidy/If my performance was still up to scratch/Would my job survive/Will you still back me or will you just sack me/When I'm sixty-five?


'I could be handy, doing my work/When other staff have gone/Surely my experience is worth a lot/Monday mornings, I'm here on the dot/Performing my duties, delivering the goods/Never one to skive/Will you respect me or cruelly reject me/When I'm sixty-five?


'Drop me an e-mail, send me a text/State your policy/Indicate precisely when I must retire/Miss the boat and you're playing with fire/Don't think I'm a has-been, I'll still have my rights/With lawyers I'll connive/You'll be in doo-doo 'cause I can still sue you/When I'm sixty-five.'