Mr Robson, a 69-year-old claimant, successfully won his age discrimination and unfair dismissal claim after being called “half dead Dave”.
The unfair dismissal claim came from the employer’s decision to make Mr Robson redundant. One of the employer’s contacts has decided not to renew a contract which meant that a job, one of which Mr Robson was working on, would come to an end. In January 2020 he was given notice of redundancy but prior to this meeting taking place, he was not even warned of the risk of being made redundant nor had there been any element of consultation with him about the proposed dismissal. This meeting itself was very short and he was not given any information about the procedures that had been followed, including any right to appeal.
After the decision had been made, Mr Robson was sent a copy of the scoring criteria which was used to determine that he would be the one selected for redundancy.
Despite being a highly qualified plumber and gas fitter who had worked in the field since 1965, Mr Robson scored the lowest amongst his peers with the exception of a few junior trainees.
The more concerning issue is that during his employment at Clarke’s Mechanical, Mr Robson was called “half dead Dave” by colleagues including his supervisor. The employer and more specifically Mr Robson’s supervisor tried to argue that the nickname was “banter” and there was no malicious intention behind it. Unsurprisingly this argument did not hold much water. The tribunal had no trouble in finding that the comment was age related and derogatory, which in turn, made it discriminatory.
Aside from the usual dangers of sham redundancy processes, this case reignites the importance of having boundaries in the workplace about not only the inappropriate use of language (which is then disguised as “banter”) but also the obligation to be respectful towards others.
You can achieve this with our help. We can provide you with a comprehensive equal opportunities policy alongside an anti-bullying/harassment policy where “banter” seems to be most at play. Better still, why not consider taking our equality, diversity & unconscious bias training to empower your management team and educate your employees on acceptable conduct.
If you have been mistreated in the workplace or require specific advice around any employment issues you have, you can contact us directly at [email protected] for a free confidential chat.
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