In the case of Ms Jasmine Stunell v Leo Bancroft Salon Ltd, an employment tribunal has ruled that being told to ‘grow up’ is not age discrimination. The panel said: ‘The tribunal does not find the words ‘grow up’ and ‘pull yourself together’ in themselves are related to age and can be said to anyone and particularly to someone older who is acting in a childish way.’
Jasmine Stunell was employed by the hairdressing salon after her social worker, whose wife worked there as a stylist, introduced her to boss Leo Bancroft and asked him if he would take her on. The social worker wanted to offer her stability as she had issues both at home and at school. She started working on Saturdays when she was 16 years old.
The salon employed approximately 30 staff. Of these, 10 were apprentices studying for an NVQ qualification with ITS being the external apprenticeship provider. Mr Bancroft agreed to take Ms Stunell on as an apprentice on a 3-month probationary period. Even though she was not officially an apprentice during her probationary period, she was treated as if she was and received the on-the-job training that all other apprentices and would be apprentices had.
At the end of the probationary period there were some performance issues which included Ms Stunell hiding in the day, her lateness, her general attitude, her use of her mobile phone and her attitude to clients. An action plan was put in place in order that she could improve.
Ms Stunell then alleged that a colleague told her to ‘grow up’ and to pull herself together through a toilet door while she was being sick. The colleague denied saying this. Ms Stunell later brought claims for age discrimination and constructive unfair dismissal against the boutique salon after she quit.
The tribunal was told Ms Stunell walked out of work on a number of occasions due to personal matters but Mr Bancroft was ‘very supportive’ as he knew she had a difficult home life. After she walked out and resigned, he texted her to say she had ‘huge potential’ and a ‘bright future ahead’. The tribunal found that he was a credible witness and that she had not been bullied or discriminated against at work.
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