Dismissal amounted to an act of age discrimination
Mrs Kessell made it clear at her job interview that she could not work Saturdays due to other commitments. Within a few weeks, her manager, Mrs Saunders, asked her to work a Saturday. Although Mrs Kessell offered to work the Saturday but at different times, to fit in with her arrangements, she was dismissed by her manager for refusing to work the Saturday hours requested.
Mrs Kessell claimed unlawful age discrimination. She argued that Mrs Saunders began to treat her less favourably than other staff almost immediately after she started the job. She kept a record of incidents and these included adverse comments from Mrs Saunders suggesting that she, Mrs Kessell, was deaf and needed glasses because of her age.
The tribunal found that the dismissal was a result of direct age discrimination. In reaching its decision, the tribunal took account of the age-related comments by Mrs Saunders: that Mrs Kessell was deaf and had poor eyesight because of her age, and that she, Mrs Saunders, got on better with younger people. It concluded that there was a personality clash between the claimant and Mrs Saunders, which was age related. Mrs Saunders, preferred to manage younger staff and found the claimant to be a threat because of her age and experience.
Mrs Kessell was awarded £11,108, including loss of earnings, future loss and interest. It also included £4,000 for injury to feelings. The tribunal found that the respondent’s treatment of Mrs Kessell “severely undermined” her confidence and caused her “significant distress”.
Kessell v Passion for Perfume Limited ET/1700345/07
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