Eight Birmingham schools have successfully opposed compensation claims for age discrimination by a teacher who complained his job applications were rejected because he was 55.
Mr Paul Tomlinson, of Kings Norton, who specialises in French and Spanish, also made a compensation claim for sex discrimination at Birmingham Employment Tribunal against one of the schools, Priory School of Edgbaston, as well as age discrimination.
He told the tribunal that he had worked part-time as maternity cover at the school at the time and had applied for the position when it was later advertised.
Mr Tomlinson alleged he had been a victim of ‘entrenched and systemic age and sex discrimination within secondary education’ and that the teaching profession ‘was actually a profession for young women’.
The other schools Mr Tomlinson accused of age discrimination were: Queensbridge, Turves Green Boys, Bishop Challoner Catholic, King Edward V1 Five Ways, Kings Norton High, King Edward’s and Arden School.
Details of his claims were made at a previous tribunal preliminary hearing where Mr Tomlinson sought approval to go ahead with his case.
Tribunal judge Miss Sarah Woffenden said at the time she would make a decision at a later date.
All governing bodies of the eight schools opposed Mr Tomlinson’s claims and denied his accusations.
Now Miss Woffenden has announced that she has struck out all of the compensation claims because they had no reasonable prospect of success.
Miss Woffenden said: “I have concluded that the claimant’s intentions in applying for the positions were genuine and arose from a misplaced optimism that his manifest shortcomings in appropriate secondary school experience would be overlooked or overcome.
“His sense of grievance that he has been treated the way he has on grounds of age is genuine, though misplaced, and unsupported by any evidence.”
Miss Woffenden said Mr Tomlinson had not provided any facts, other than his age, and the failure to be shortlisted.
She also said that she was not able to draw any inference that there was age or sex discrimination by any of the respondents in their failure to shortlist him.
Article from Birmingham Mail