Age discrimination: Success and failure
Age discrimination is illegal, but unfortunately, it is not uncommon. For example, you might like to read about these two recent cases. One of them was spectacularly successful, the other unfortunately failed.
Age discrimination: Success
In 2017, Mr Gregory started work as a geophysicist at Petro Trace Ltd.
He was first told his role was being made redundant in 2021 due to lack of work, then he received a letter saying his employment was being terminated. When he sought clarification, he was given a notice of redundancy.
He spoke to the Managing Director about it, fearing that he was being dismissed due to his age, but the MD became aggressive.
Mr Gregory therefore appealed against his dismissal and made claims for:
- Unfair dismissal
- Direct age discrimination
- Direct race discrimination
- Victimisation
- Failure to pay notice
- Failure to pay statutory redundancy pay
A letter was drafted by his employers, but not sent, attempting to dismiss him on the basis of poor performance, however no details were given. It turned out that the company could not produce any evidence of financial downturn or performance issues. Rather, senior managers had exchanged emails discussing the replacement of Mr Gregory with “younger and more active experts”, and calling him:
- “A pensioner”
- “Far over 60 years old”
He was 62, so neither of those statements were true.
In 2023, the employment tribunal made their decision. Because the only fair reasons to dismiss someone are on the basis of performance or redundancy, and neither of those applied in this case, they found in favour of Mr Gregory, and upheld his claim of age (but not race) discrimination.
He was awarded a total of £340,212.80 which included £20,000 for injury to feelings.
Age discrimination: Failure
Mrs Palladino worked at Reed in Partnership Ltd. She was aged 45, and all but one of her colleagues were younger than her.
She made various claims for harassment and direct age discrimination, but the employment tribunal judge struck them out because the incidents she complained about were neither harassment nor age discrimination as there was no detriment to her. These included:
- Being told she had “a lot of experience” – but this was factually correct
- Asking colleagues if they had children and being told no because “I am young”
- A comment from a colleague who offered to climb on a chair to display Christmas decorations because she was “more agile” was found not to be linked to age
- Colleagues disagreeing with Mrs Palladino’s suggested Christmas party venue because they wanted to “go clubbing” instead
- Non-age-related disagreement about use of a training room
Although her age discrimination and harassment claims failed in 2023, Mrs Palladino submitted a grievance and is also claiming for victimisation and constructive dismissal. This claim will go forward to a full hearing.
What this means to you
Every case is different and the details really matter. Any little thing can affect whether you win your case or lose it.
That’s why it’s wise to keep written records of everything that happens, including who said or did what and when. Otherwise, it’s easy to forget. Keep copies of relevant emails, text messages, voicemails and WhatsApp chats. The more organised you are, the easier your case will be to handle. It’s also wise to get advice early from a specialist employment lawyer early on, such as us.
There are many stages to go through before you get to the hearing in front of an employment tribunal judge. First, you might be able to resolve the issue with your employer informally. If that doesn’t work, you should go through your employer’s official grievance process (see your staff handbook or employment contract for information about this). Next, you could go to Acas for mediation. At any of these stages, we can hold your hand (metaphorically), give professional legal advice, and stay by your side to help you through.
Note that we only ever act for employees, not employers, and we have decades of experience you can depend on.
If and when your case gets to the tribunal, it’s important that you keep emotion out of it (even if that’s hard). Stick to the facts, and state your side of the story calmly and clearly. We can help you with that too.
We deal with discrimination cases for employees all the time, including age discrimination. If you’d like our expert support, please give us a call. The first conversation is free and with no obligation. Tell us exactly what happened and we’ll tell you your chances of your claim succeeding and what to do next.
Related reading
If you found this information interesting, you might also like to read our related articles:
- Age discrimination: I’ve been called rude names
- How to prove age discrimination
- The ‘Discrimination Act’ in Northern Ireland
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