Those of you who took our recent employment law quiz will know that a healthy, if not huge, number of age discrimination cases were taken to tribunal in the first six months following the introduction of the age discrimination legislation in October 2006. Many cases brought have, of course, been settled or withdrawn, or were ultimately unsuccessful at hearing. However, a recent trip to the tribunal office at Bury St Edmunds, and a scroll through the public register there, brought to light a number of interesting decisions suggesting that some employers either remain unaware of the implications of the age discrimination legislation or are struggling to deal with it.
Although the decisions reported in our round-up on XpertHR [subscription required] are first instance decisions, and therefore not binding on other tribunals, they highlight some of the pitfalls for the unwary employer, as well as demonstrating possible approaches to the question of justification and the assessment of injury to feelings compensation. Although, in five out of the six cases reported, the claimants were successful, the final case illustrates that, where they can demonstrate the consistent application of appropriate and thorough selection procedures, employers should be able to establish that selection for a role was made on a non-discriminatory basis.
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