A 14-year old schoolgirl was the victim of direct age discrimination when she was fired for being “too young”.
It is thought that Hazel Cassidy is to be the youngest person in the UK to win an age discrimination claim.
Facts
Hazel Cassidy had just turned 14 years old when she applied for a Saturday job at an Equestrian Centre Cafe, owned by the Daimler Foundation. Cassidy included her age and national insurance details on the application forms and was hired to work four hours on Saturdays, as a part-time waitress
Following a successful first shift, Cassidy was praised by the front of house manager and owner, Malcom Easy, that he was “pleased with her work”. During Cassidy’s second shift, whilst taking an order at the till she was approached by the owner’s partner and told she should not be using the till and later that day she and another member of staff were told to leave early as the café was not busy.
A few days later, Cassidy received a call from the café owner to say that he had enjoyed working with her, but she could not continue to work at the café as she was too young, for health and safety reasons. The café owner followed this by stating, “she had not done anything wrong but that the accountant said that she could not work there”.
At tribunal. the café owner maintained his defence that he was unaware of Cassidy’s age when he hired her and that the role was “too severe, and too stressful, and that she was not able to cope with the severity of the job”, to which the Tribunal did not accept.
Decision
The tribunal confirmed that Cassidy had established on first impression, that age was at least a factor in the decision to end her employment.
Employment judge Alexander Kemp said: “The Tribunal concluded that it was far more likely that Mr Easy had said something to the effect that the claimant was too young for the role, and that the accountant had said that it was for health and safety reasons. The claimant gave her evidence clearly, candidly, and calmly, whilst still someone who is very young to be appearing before an Employment Tribunal as both witness and claimant. The Tribunal considered her to be a credible and reliable witness”
Cassidy was awarded £2,500 for injury to feelings and direct discrimination with an additional interest of £300.
The judgment is available here.
Cassidy v Daimler Foundation, Case Number 4101376/2020, 7 June 2021,