Calling colleagues 'old' over IT skills is not age discrimination, tribunal rules

"Calling a colleague "old" because they struggle with computer skills does not, on its own, amount to age discrimination, an employment tribunal has ruled. The decision came in the case of Farah Janjua, 39, who brought claims against her former employer, Harvey Jones Ltd, after a younger manager told her her lack of IT skills was "because you're old". Ms Janjua argued that the comment, made by a colleague in his late 20s, amounted to unlawful age discrimination."

"The tribunal heard that Ms Janjua began working at a Harvey Jones kitchen showroom in Marlow in July 2022. During one incident, a sales manager, Nawaz Salauddin, intervened while she was working on a document, showing her how to add attachments using a computer mouse. When Ms Janjua said she did not know the function existed, Mr Salauddin replied: "Cos you're old.""

"In dismissing the claim, Judge Naomi Shastri-Hurst said the tribunal accepted that the comment had been made, but found that it was not discriminatory in law. "We find that a lack of technical knowledge is not infrequently deemed, rightly or wrongly, to be connected to age," the judge said. "On the balance of probabilities, we accept that this conversation took place as suggested.""

A single remark calling a colleague 'old' for lacking computer skills was found insufficient alone to prove unlawful age discrimination. Farah Janjua, 39, was told her lack of IT skills was 'because you're old' by a younger manager and was dismissed after her probation period. An Employment Tribunal in Reading rejected her claims in full, concluding the remark did not meet the legal threshold for age discrimination. The tribunal accepted the comment occurred but concluded the manager would have made the same comment to anyone older than him rather than targeting her specifically because of her age.

Read at Business Matters