A London club dismissed the employee and she alleged that her boss told her that “she was too young and if he had met me a few years later there may not have been a problem”. A default judgment was given by an employment tribunal when the club did not oppose the claim, meaning that the tribunal did not consider the merits of the case. The club claimed after the decision that the employee completed her probationary period, but the decision had been taken to end her employment because of some mistakes that she made.

This is thought to be the first successful claim for age discrimination by a younger worker, but it is unfortunate that the claim was not opposed by the employer and the issues in the case were not therefore tested.

Whatever the merits of the case, it serves as a reminder to line managers to avoid bringing age into the equation when managing performance, and to instead concentrate on individuals’ competencies and capability.

XpertHR’s line manager briefing on age discrimination [subscription required] includes advice to line managers that age discrimination legislation applies equally to younger workers.

Read more about the case on The Times and The Daily Telegraph websites.