Age Discrimination and/or unfavourable treatment due to part-time hours

[nhssucks]

Hi everyone, I am new to this and really hope someone can help. I am self representing because I live mainly abroad and this would cause a problem to most lawyers/trainees/volunteers.

 

On my ET1 I ticked the Age Discrimination box, simply because I could not see any other options that applied, but proceeded to state that I believed I had been discriminated against due to Age and/or Part-time hours.

 

The Respondent replied on the ET3 that there was no jurisdiction because I had not listed and dated the alleged discrimination incidents and that those mentioned predated my ET1. The ET has now sent a list of orders which include one for me to provide a schedule of every act of discrimination, harassment, victimisation and disadvantaging work practices, plus comparators if I intend to rely on them, with dates, who did or said what to whom and where.

 

This has confused me because I am not sure why the judge has included all these categories and how they apply to my case. I am hoping someone can help me as I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. This is the brief summary of the story:

 

-Until Dec 2009 full-time senior manager.

 

-Dec 2009 Part-time hours requested and granted. Relocated abroad with husband. Started making monthly trips back to UK to work 4 consecutive days a month.

 

-Within months of becoming part-time, one to one meetings stopped, email communications stopped, everyone in the unit relocated but me, I had to e-mail or phone my manager to offer her an update each month, she was more and more dismissive and sharp with me on the phone as if I bothered her by contacting her, I would not be informed of junior members of the team starting and leaving even though I liaised with the team as part of my role, I felt alienated, left out and humiliated, listening to other departments senior colleagues jesting about why I was the only senior team member away from the management team, but did not complain as I didn't want to suffer the consequences of that action.

 

-Mid 2010 my financial situation took a turn for the worse, my husband had to return to the UK for work, I asked if I could increase my hours but this was denied due 'lack of funds'.

 

-Mid 2011 I discovered a new senior manager appointment, same area of expertise, full time position, younger person, less experienced and qualified had been offered the job 'via the back door', I wasn't told about the vacancy coming up or being due to be advertised (standard practice but not policy)

-Nov 2012 I was told my job was in the latest redundancy pool and given 30 days consultation notice, the consultation paper stated clearly that 2/3 of my duties had been reallocated to other staff in 2010 (?) and the remaining 1/3 was going to be reallocated to someone else.

 

-Dec 2012 I submitted a grievance when I discovered that someone younger and on a much lower grade had just started and that she was going to take over some of my duties. My grievance stated that I felt the redundancy had been engineered and that I had been discriminated against due to age and/or part-time status (making me redundant cost them a miserly sum despite my high salary as I was extremely part-time and just 4 months away form the age at which they would have had to make up my pension benefits shortfall). The grievance was declined as it 'referred largely to redundancy'.

 

-Jan 2013 Compulsory redundancy advised. 3 months notice given.

 

-Feb 2013 ET1 submitted in a hurry after reading about the time limits. Redundancy appeal also submitted.

 

-April 2013 Internal appeal heard. Redundancy going ahead. Paid up to 30/04 plus redundancy pay. No income now until I reach minimum pension benefits age (in 4 months I am entitled to a much-reduced early pension at age 50).

 

My question is, how do I compile the schedule requested in the order? Are there elements of harassment and/or victimisation I had not considered before? Part-time discrimination doesn't show anywhere on the ET1, is it a protected act?

 

How do I insert it in the schedule? I cannot find any help with this in the copious ET guides and advice forums on the internet...Please assist if you can.

Edited May 25, 2013 by citizenB
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[ericsbrother]

Is this new manager male or female? You have already mentioned they are younger than you but you also point out hat many others recruited are younger, less experienced but CHEAPER than you. Dont you think this is the real reason rather than a direct discrimination. You will have to work out a rough age to grade cost saving and show that this is deliberate. You will need examples of others in the same boat as you to get very far with this.

[nhssucks]

Is this new manager male or female? You have already mentioned they are younger than you but you also point out hat many others recruited are younger, less experienced but CHEAPER than you. Dont you think this is the real reason rather than a direct discrimination. You will have to work out a rough age to grade cost saving and show that this is deliberate. You will need examples of others in the same boat as you to get very far with this.

 

Thank you very much for replying. The new manager is female, all other new staff are females. In all honesty I don't know the real reason for discrimination/harassment and if the ET1 had had a tick box for part-time discrimination, I would have ticked that one as well as unfair dismissal and age discrimination. It may simply be that my manager suddenly developed a personal dislike to me. What I do know is that everything changed after I became part-time: excluded from comms, no one:ones, no social involvement, not made aware of that vacancy so excluded from an opportunity to apply, and the culminating act: staff appointed immediately before I was advised of my redundancy so they would take over my duties....There is no doubt that I was on a considerably higher grade than the staff who are now in post but, cost savings or not, shouldn't part-time employees expect the same treatment as full-time employees? Because of my age, if they had delayed my redundancy by just 4 months I would have cost them around 100K, instead all I received was 16K for 24 years service. Any further suggestions will be more than welcome.