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Hospital worker wins landmark discrimination case

Published 13/04/2007

A 67-year-old woman who was dismissed just before the new age discrimination laws became active has been reinstated in her job after a landmark court case.

Ann Southcott was working in the Treliske Hospital in Cornwall when she was sacked on September 30th the day before the laws came into force.

As a result she was granted only 11 weeks pay instead of 11 months pay that the new rules would have entitled her to.

Following victory in court, however, Ms Southcott will receive back pay to October and will reassume her previous clerical position at the trust.

Mrs Southcott told This Is London: "I'm delighted with this result as I was clearly discriminated against on the grounds of my age, which was grossly unfair.

"I cannot afford to give up work at this time, and why should I when I was doing a job I loved? I am looking forward to the challenge of my new job back in the therapies department.

"The trust publicly announced that it was dismissing employees like me to avoid the implications of the age regulations," she added.

As a result of the case, the trust is to also reinstate a further 36 former-employees over 65 whom it had sacked before the rulings in an attempt to save money.

Edward Cooper, head of employment law Russell Jones & Walker, said it was significant because it is “the first case to illustrate the very real unfairness that exists for older employees - which was allowed to go entirely unchallenged before the new laws took force.”

Mr Cooper added that there are “likely to be many other similar cases where rash decisions by employers to seek to avoid the impact of age discrimination prior to October 1st 2006 are successfully challenged.”

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