Submitted on
Wednesday 2 November 2011
by
Tony Alcock
Extract from Personnel Today report dated Sept 2011.
Age discrimination - average award: £30,289
Age discrimination cases saw a rise in both the size of the pay outs and the amount of claims accepted by employment tribunals in 2010/11. While the average award grew from £10,931 in 2009/10 to £30,289 this year, the number of cases accepted by tribunals rose by nearly one-third to reach 6,800, overtaking race discrimination cases.
The highest pay out given in an age discrimination case this year was £144,100, with 15% of winning claimants awarded £50,000 or more. This compares to a maximum award of £48,710 in 2009/10.
The majority of claims were withdrawn (40%) or settled without the need for a hearing through Acas conciliation (35%). Two per cent of claims were successful at tribunal.
Our Comment:
Employers are at greater risk of being taken to tribunal now for age discrimination due to the fact they cannot directly ask an employee about their retirement plans. There are ways around this that can ansure you do not discriminate your employees. For further information do not hesitate to contact us info@customhr.co.uk