Age Discrimination, Redundancy and the Burden of Proof – Guideline Ruling

Where an older employee is treated less favourably than a younger one in a similar position, the burden shifts onto the employer to prove that age discrimination had no effect on its decision-making. An Employment Tribunal (ET) made that point in the case of an administration manager who was…

Apr 05, 2023

The man had worked for a car sales company for more than 20 years when he was selected for redundancy. He contended that his dismissal was pre-determined and motivated by his age. The company asserted that it was conducting a necessary restructuring exercise and that his selection followed a fair procedure.

Ruling on the matter, the ET found that the principal reason for his dismissal was, as the company asserted, redundancy. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company had to reorganise its business and had a commercial and economic reason for making redundancies.

The ET did not consider that the manager who decided on the man’s selection for redundancy was guilty of conscious age discrimination. The man was warned in advance that his job was at risk and steps were taken to conduct a fair consultation and selection process and to minimise job losses.

In nevertheless upholding his age discrimination complaint, the ET found that he was less favourably treated than a younger colleague. There was no material difference between them in terms of skills and qualifications. Given those findings, it was for the company to provide an explanation. It had failed to provide cogent evidence of a non-discriminatory reason for the difference in treatment.

Also upholding his unfair dismissal claim, the ET noted that the redundancy process lacked transparency. It could not be discerned from the available evidence whether the selection criteria were applied fairly. His dismissal also did not fall within the range of reasonable responses in that it was tainted by age discrimination. The amount of his compensation, if not agreed, would be assessed at a further hearing.

Employer Pays for Bypassing Trade Union – Supreme Court Ruling

Employers cannot with impunity make direct offers to trade union members with the aim of pre-empting the collective bargaining process. The Supreme Court made that point in confirming awards of compensation to 57 workers whose employer bypassed their trade union in search of a pay deal. The manual and shop floor workers were all members of a trade union. Following a ballot of workers, their employer recognised the union on a non-legally binding basis and they commenced formal annual pay…

Was Restaurant Chef’s COVID-19 Redundancy Inevitable? Guideline Ruling

When employees are unfairly dismissed, it is commonplace for employers to assert that they would have lost their jobs in any event and that they have thus sustained no financial loss. As a case concerning a restaurant chef showed, however, such contentions are unlikely to be accepted in the absence of solid evidence. The chef was the most junior member of the restaurant’s 10-strong kitchen team of non-speciality chefs. Following a downturn in business arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, he was…

Disability Discrimination – Diabetic Cake Shop Worker Compensated

Discrimination against disabled employees is a social evil with which Employment Tribunals (ETs) will have no truck. In one case, a cake shop worker who was dismissed because of her diabetes was awarded thousands of pounds in compensation. The woman’s condition meant that, without daily insulin injections, she would suffer a hypoglycaemic episode and fall into a coma. At the date of her dismissal, she was in stage B renal failure. In sacking her by text, her manager expressed the view that she…