• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Call us now: 01243 836 840   [email protected]
Pure Employment Law
  • Who We Are
    • Nicola Brown
    • Peter Stevens
    • Elena Elsam
    • David Jones
    • Linda Nye
    • Brenda Cherry
  • For Employers
    • Advice on HR and People issues
    • Investigations, Hearings and Appeals
    • Restructuring and Redundancy
    • Defending Employment Tribunal Claims
    • Dismissal of Senior Executives
    • Contracts, Handbooks and Policies
    • Employment Law Training
  • For Employees
    • Settlement Agreements
    • Workplace Issues including Disciplinary and Grievance
    • Bringing an Employment Tribunal Claim
  • Employment Law Events
  • Legal Updates
  • Testimonials
  • Vacancies
  • Contact us
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Oldest person wins age discrimination claim

24 February 2019

We examine a very recent Employment Tribunal case where a secretary in an NHS trust is thought to be the oldest person to succeed in claiming age discrimination.

The facts

In the case of Jolly v Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Eileen Jolly had continuous service with the Trust from 1991 until her dismissal in early 2017, when she was 87.

As part of her role as a medical secretary she was responsible for keeping a list of patients who were waiting for surgery. This was separate to the hospital’s main waiting list. In 2015 she was informed that her role was now ‘patient pathway coordinator’ and the waiting list records were now being handled electronically. She was never told what changes the new role involved, and she was sent on waiting list training, but part of the training had to be postponed because the person running the session couldn’t tell the staff how to operate an aspect of the system. That part of the training was never rearranged.

Ms Jolly was informed in 2016 that she was under investigation. She was told to collect her personal belongings and leave the premises, and was put on paid leave. She was sent a letter saying that there was a capability issue due to a “third serious incident” in relation to the waiting list. She said she had no idea whatsoever what the first two issues were, and even in relation to the third incident she had not been provided with details.

An investigation was undertaken, but it was limited and did not involve an interview with Ms Jolly herself. The investigating officer included in his report comments about Ms Jolly from other members of staff, including about her age and ‘frailty’.

She was eventually dismissed in early 2017 for failing to carry out her duties in managing the waiting list. She appealed, but the appeal was not dealt with, so she brought claims to the Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal, breach of contract, age discrimination and disability discrimination.

The decision

At the Employment Tribunal all of Ms Jolly’s claims were upheld. Given the issues with the process, it is not surprising that the dismissal was found to be unfair. The Tribunal found that she had been ‘humiliated’ by the experience and that the training she received had been inadequate. The Tribunal also felt that there was a ‘symbiosis’ between Ms Jolly’s age and her disability, and that there was ‘no attempt’ by the Trust to adhere to the spirit of its own capability procedure. The comments made by colleagues were hurtful, and had been aimed at Ms Jolly’s age and health as well as perceptions of her age and health. The Tribunal said that there was a suspicion that the Claimant had been a scapegoat for the issues with the waiting list.

A remedy hearing has been arranged for October 2019 in order for the Employment Tribunal to determine the compensation payable to Ms Jolly. It will be interesting to see how they assess her losses, in particular how long they consider she would have continued to work if she had not been dismissed.

If you are dealing with a discrimination issue, then we can help. Please call us on 01243 836840 for a no obligation chat, or email us at [email protected].

Please note that this update is not intended to be exhaustive or be a substitute for legal advice. The application of the law in this area will often depend upon the specific facts and you are advised to seek specific advice on any given scenario.
Share this article
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail

Join our mailing list

* = required field
Mailing Lists


Recent Legal Updates

  • What to expect during 2021 – employment law developments 21st January 2021
  • Did “office banter” about an employee’s memory amount to age discrimination? 21st January 2021
  • Update on Furlough 20th January 2021
  • Restricting Restrictive Covenants? 20th January 2021
  • Q&A: What to expect from a remote Tribunal hearing 20th January 2021
Link to: Contact Us

Any questions? Why not get in touch!

Our advice is always given in plain English without any waffle, and we focus on providing practical solutions to our clients’ problems.

Contact us

LEGAL INFORMATION

Pure Employment Law | 1 Little London, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1PH
[email protected] | Tel: 01243 836840

Pure Employment Law is the trading name of Pure Employment Law Limited, registered in England and Wales with company number 07134294 and whose registered office is 1 Little London, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1PH. Pure Employment Law Limited is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with registration number 533794. A list of the company’s directors is available for inspection at the registered office

DISCLAIMER

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by Pure Employment Law and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions | How to make a complaint | Sitemap

© Pure Employment Law 2021

Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies as defined in our cookie policy.

Accept Cookie Policy

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy Policy
Accept settingsHide notification only