£30,000 Compensation To Employee Fired For Wearing Sports Shoes At Work
United Kingdom: The youngest employee in a company in the UK was awarded a compensation of 30,000 pounds (Rs 32,20,818) for being a victim of discrimination based on age in the workplace. The 20-year-old was fired from her position at her company for wearing sports shoes.
The woman, Elizabeth Benassi, began to work at Maximus UK Services in 2022 at the age of 18, and she reportedly did not know about the dress code. Only a month later after joining, the manager reprimanded her when Benassi wore trainers to work.
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Benassi complained to the manager that it was only that morning the manager mentioned that she was not allowed to wear trainers to work. ‘Despite not being aware of this, as I have never worn trainers to work before, I apologised for this and you rolled your eyes. ‘I have now realised am not the only one wearing trainers today and I have not seen anyone receive the same chat that I have,’ the UK based portal METRO quoted the employee
During the hearing regarding her sacking from the company for wearing trainers, the woman in the tribunal alleged that she was treated like a child by a manager who slammed her choice of dress. The employment tribunal in Croydon, south London, found that the company showed desire to find fault with the young staff.
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The employee pointed out the discrimination was based on the age, and as she was the youngest, she was micromanaged and looked down upon despite her other coworkers wearing comparable shoes with no actions from the company side.
The company, which supplies services to the Department for Work and Pensions, has denied allegations. However, the tribunal ruled in favor of the employee, asking to give a compensation of 29,187 pounds to her for victimization.
The employment tribunal, while dismissing other age-related harassment allegations, noted that it was a clear unfairness and indicates a desire to find fault, adding that she did not know the dress code.
Age is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA), and discriminating against someone because of their age is unlawful, and employees can take claims of age discrimination to an Employment Tribunal in the UK.
