B P Collins Solicitors: talk to the experts
Gerrards Cross: +44(0) 1753 889995
Beaconsfield: +44(0) 1494 675363
Related stories
Gender pay gaps 'could be revealed'
6 January 2009
Health and safety 'makes legal sense'
30 December 2008
Employment law 'perplexes businesses'
11 December 2008
Age discrimination 'will be tackled'
8 December 2008
Dismissal on day before 65th birthday is discriminatory
15 July 2008
A tribunal has ruled that a business could not rely on exemption rules when it retired a worker on the day before his 65th birthday.
The Lincoln hearing awarded Mr W Plewes more than £36,000 in compensation after agreeing Adams Pork Produce, of Spalding, Lincolnshire, acted wrongly in retiring him against his wishes on December 29 2006.
In defending its actions the firm relied on the default retirement exemption in r. 30 of the Employment Equality (Age) Regs 2006, which only applies when a worker retires on or after their 65th birthday.
The tribunal said it was not possible to argue he had been retired on or after his birthday, adding the firm could have dismissed him fairly simply by waiting a day.
The hearing said the firm had discriminated against Mr Plewes and had dismissed him unfairly.
Mr Plewes was a production operative in the company's frying department in Spalding until his dismissal. He returned to the site doing his old job as an agency worker just over two weeks later on January 15th 2007.
Mr Plewes' compensatory award included £7,500 for injury to feelings and £8,927 for future loss.
