Council workers win age discrimination appeal

Sixteen council employees who lost out on continuous service awards because they were too young when the scheme closed have won the right to bring age discrimination claims.

The 16 were all employed by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. The authority ran a scheme which rewarded staff with incremental payments if they had given 25 years service and were over the age of 55. The scheme was withdrawn on 1^st April 2007.

Employees who were already receiving the increments were allowed to keep them as a form of pay protection. Employees under the age of 55 before the scheme closed failed to qualify.

The 16 employees who missed out said this breached age discrimination regulations which came into force six months earlier on 1^st October 2006. The employment tribunal ruled against them but that decision has now been overturned by the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

It held that the 16 employees had been discriminated against and sent the case back for a revised hearing before a different tribunal.