Beware.... unrenumerated advice is worthless......
Your lawyer friend has opined.... he is entitled to.. however an alternative (unrenumerated) view; if someone is on a salary of x one day... and the next day he is on a salary of less than "x".... and the only thing that has changed is he turned 55.... this can only be construed as "ageism"...
EU Courts don't tolerate "isms" and tend to give fairly hefty damages.....
EU Courts don't tolerate people who make contracts that condone "isms"...