Age UK discovered responsible of age discrimination
Britain’s leading charity for the elderly has been found guilty of age discrimination.
Age UK has been ordered by an employment tribunal to pay more than £4,000 in compensation to an interview candidate it treated unfairly.
The charity – which claims to want ‘a world where everyone can love later life’ –was found to have harassed 58-year-old designer Alexander Cubbin after he applied for a job.
Due to an internal blunder, Mr Cubbin’s application was never even considered and he was rejected and then subjected to a ‘humiliating’ review the charity conducted to avoid ’embarrassment’.
It has now been ordered to pay Mr Cubbin £4,316 in compensation after he successfully sued them for age-related harassment.
Age UK has been ordered by an employment tribunal to pay more than £4,000 to an interview candidate it treated unfairly (file photo)
Alexander Cubbin was one of 298 people to apply for a Brand Asset Designer role and despite being eligible for an automatic interview, his application was never even considered
The hearing in central London was told that in March last year Mr Cubbin was one of 298 people to apply for a Brand Asset Designer role.
As Mr Cubbin is disabled by reason of mental health issues, he is eligible to qualify for an automatic interview as Age UK has signed up to the government’s Disability Confident Scheme.
In his CV, Mr Cubbin stated he was disabled, adding: ‘I am 58, have been working in the industry for 40 years and in a voluntary capacity for the past 14 years and I’m not quite ready to put my slippers on.’
A month later, Mr Cubbin received a ‘generic email’ stating his application wasn’t successful and he was not invited for an interview.
Age UK apologised and told him the person who got the job was 55 – when they were in fact in their 30s.
However, senior brand identity manager Rebecca King then carried out a harsh post-application review and sent it to Mr Cubbin outlining why he didn’t meet the criteria anyway.
Mr Cubbin told the tribunal: ‘She was asked to evaluate my CV, not invited to express a bigoted opinion, using rude and insensitive languages to comment on my personality and honesty.’
