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* Age discrimination: manager's rC description of 18-year-old yc worker as "stroppy teenager" V was harassment ^
Roberts ν Cash Zone (Camberley) Ltd and another
In July 2011, Mr Cullen recruited Ms Roberts, who had just turned 18, despite his concerns about Ms Roberts' lack of experience. Ms Roberts was trained by Ms Peters on the large number of rigid procedures.
As the two did not overlap in their hours very much, Ms Peters communicated via a daily Word document. Ms Peters' notes on occasion referred to Ms Roberts as a "kid"; a "stroppy kid"; and a "stroppy little teenager".
Ms Peters compiled a detailed report for Mr Cullen on incapability issues, and in April 2012 Mr Cullen called Ms Roberts into a meeting without notice and dismissed her.
Ms Roberts brought a number of tribunal claims, including unfair dismissal (which was rejected because of insufficient service) and age discrimination.
The employment tribunal rejected Ms Roberts' argument that the lack of a dismissal procedure was influenced by her youth, as the employer would have treated an employee of any age in the same way.
However, the employment tribunal found that the "teenager" and "kid" comments did amount to harassment on the ground of age. The word "teenager" can be neutral, but could also be used to express a subjective value judgment, often related to stereotyping.
The word "kid" is more problematic, because it does not have an objective numerical value...