In Ms E Benassi v Maximus UK Services Ltd [2024], an 18-year-old Employment Advisor brought claims against her employer, Maximus UK Servies Ltd (“Maximus”), for victimisation and harassment on grounds of age.
When Ms Benassi started at Maximus, she expressed concerns about not being taken seriously due to her relatively young age. She filed a grievance against her manager following a series of incidences, alleging “continuous targeting” because of her age.
Harassment
After the grievance was submitted, Ms Benassi faced daily meetings about her performance, was heavily scrutinised and was the only person criticised for wearing trainers to work, despite other colleagues doing so. However, the Employment Tribunal did not uphold the claim for harassment as it did not find that these actions were motivated by age prejudice, rather they stemmed from the strained working relationship with her manager.
Victimisation
The grievance was not upheld and before her probation review, the Claimant was demoted to a Receptionist role and subsequently dismissed, instead of having her probation extended. The Tribunal found that Ms Benassi’s grievance was a ‘protected act’ because it related to an allegation of unlawful discrimination and harassment.
It also found that the Claimant suffered a detriment because of this protected act and was therefore victimised. She was subjected to far more severe consequences following minor performance issues and Maximus failed to adequately explain why she was dismissed, despite the very high rate of Employment Advisors passing probation.
Compensation
Following a separate remedy hearing, Ms Benassi has recently been awarded a total sum of £29,187 which consisted of compensation for financial loss and injury to feelings.
