A veteran plumber has been awarded £25,000 after bosses dubbed him ‘Half-dead Dave’ due to his age.
David Robson, who was 69 on the time, was often known as by the ‘derogatory’ nickname by colleagues engaged on web site within the Isle of Wight, earlier than his bosses then additionally started utilizing it, an employment tribunal heard.
They claimed it was merely ‘banter’ however the tribunal heard it left Mr Robson feeling ‘saddened and embarrassed’.
He later misplaced his job when the corporate chosen him for redundancy following a points-scoring system which rated him as decrease than different employees.
Nonetheless, the tribunal dominated the system was unfair and there was ‘no justification’ for the low scores awarded to Mr Robson, now 71.
It additionally mentioned his ‘Half-dead’ nickname proved that his standing because the oldest worker on the agency had influenced their determination to sack him.
Bosses argued the nickname was used years earlier than his sacking – and mentioned they extra usually referred to him as ‘Disco Dave’ as an alternative.
However the tribunal dominated Mr Robson had been each discriminated towards because of his age and unfairly sacked, and awarded him £25,000 in compensation – £7,000 of which was awarded purely for the ‘name-calling’.
A veteran plumber has been awarded £25,000 after bosses dubbed him ‘Half-dead Dave’ due to his age (inventory picture)
The tribunal heard he first certified as a plumber 55 years in the past, and had labored for Clarke’s Mechanical Ltd as a ‘plumber/pipefitter’ for eight years earlier than being dismissed
The tribunal heard he first certified as a plumber 55 years in the past, and had labored for Clarke’s Mechanical Ltd as a ‘plumber/pipefitter’ for eight years earlier than being dismissed.
Mr Robson was the ‘oldest expert employee’ out of ‘some 17 gasoline engineers/plumbers’ on the agency in Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
In January 2020, he was advised he was to be made redundant because of a ‘downturn in workload’. He was the primary employee of three to be dismissed, and was awarded £6,300 in redundancy pay.
Mr Robson appealed the choice, asking his firm to clarify the choice course of and questioning whether or not his age had been an element.
The scoring system supposedly used to pick out redundancy candidates was later despatched to Mr Robson, which he complained had been ‘fabricated’.
He obtained a rating of 28, which was low given his expertise and experience.. His rating for ‘Efficiency’ was the bottom aside from that of a junior trainee.
The tribunal additionally heard Mr Robson was nicknamed ‘Half-dead Dave’ on web site, and that the title was additionally utilized by his supervisors and managers.
Throughout one incident in 2015, his supervisor Lee Pitman admitted utilizing the nickname when telling one other employee, Tom Fox, to take tools to Mr Robson.
Mr Pitman advised the tribunal: ‘I believe I [gave] Tom one thing to provide to him and I mentioned, ‘Give that to Dave’.
‘I believe Tom hadn’t labored with Dave and he mentioned ‘Who’s Dave?’, and I mentioned Half-dead Dave as a result of that’s what I believed all of them known as him on web site.’
The tribunal heard Mr Fox then handed Mr Robson the plumbing fittings saying, ‘Right here you might be, Half-dead’.
Mr Robson requested who had known as him that and was advised it was Mr Pitman – who insisted there was ‘no malice’ in his utilizing the nickname and advised the tribunal ‘it was simply banter’.
However Mr Robson advised the tribunal: ‘It was saddening. To me, probably the most saddening factor was that the time period originated from a member of the administration. It got here from him [Mr Pitman].
‘I additionally had a nickname of Disco Dave however he didn’t use that. Once we [came] to the tip of all this and my daughter sat me down and mentioned, ‘can we undergo every thing’, she was upset… You’ll be.
‘To the tip of my employment I used to be often known as Half-dead Dave. Lee Pitman known as me that – he thought it was quite amusing.
‘Half-dead, what, as a result of I’m outdated? It wasn’t straightforward to sit down and clarify to my household.
The plumber misplaced his job when the corporate chosen him for redundancy following a points-scoring system which rated him as decrease than different employees. However the tribunal dominated the system was unfair and there was ‘no justification’ for the low scores awarded (inventory picture)
‘I didn’t ask colleagues [to stop using the name]. I simply thought, ‘Only some years left at work, let’s simply put up with it’. I didn’t need the misery of all of it.’
Mr Robson took Clarke’s to an employment tribunal in Bristol, complaining he had been unfairly dismissed and discriminated towards on grounds of age.
Employment Decide Martha Felicity Road dominated he had been discriminated towards due to his age ‘plain and easy’.
She mentioned: ‘[The nickname] prompted detriment. Mr Robson put up with it, however he didn’t prefer it, he was uncomfortable and saddened and embarrassed.
‘In respect of the name-calling, Half-Useless Dave, the vast majority of the Tribunal award an extra £7,000.
‘That displays the long-standing use of the title and its frankly derogatory reference to his age.
‘Mr Robson didn’t discuss up his misery, nevertheless it was plain that he was distressed and embarrassed, distressed too when he was compelled to inform his household; it turned the extra painful on changing into recognized.
‘It affected his confidence, it made him the extra anxious for his job, in an surroundings the place that conduct went with out remark. He felt handled unfairly and felt unable to handle it.
‘This was discrimination on the grounds of age, plain and easy. Discrimination of any kind isn’t just banter. That’s accepted throughout society at giant.’
Mr Robson gained each his claims and was awarded £24,926.14 in compensation – together with £7,000 because of damage attributable to his given nickname.
Adrian Baker Regional Organiser of the GMB commerce union which supported Mr Robson’s case mentioned: ‘UK Employment legislation is there for us all to respect and Isle of Wight employers are not any exception.
‘GMB frequently sees members throughout the Isle of Wight coming to us for help on a variety of issues.
‘Nonetheless, it will typically seem that there’s a larger prevalence on the Island than elsewhere for employers, who merely want to ignore UK employment legislation and the great recommendation given by GMB, to as an alternative exchange this with some type of native strategy.’
