The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that the use of the word "younger" in the person specification for the job vacancy that had been created after the claimant had been dismissed was sufficient to raise the suspicion of age discrimination and shift the burden of proof to the employer.
In R (on the application of Kirk) v Middlesbrough Council and another [2010] IRLR 699 HC, the High Court held that a social worker accused of withholding information about a child protection investigation, of which she was the subject, from her private sector employer was not entitled to legal representation at a disciplinary hearing.
A 62-year-old worker who was made redundant was awarded over £27,000 for age discrimination and unfair dismissal, in a stark warning for employers that allow their redundancy selection procedure to be tainted by age bias.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that, on the facts of the case, an employer did not commit sex discrimination against an employee on maternity leave when an administrative error meant that she was not informed of a job vacancy.
This employment tribunal ruling provides a useful example for line managers and staff of the wide variety of conduct that can amount to sexual harassment.