Former bakery sales manager received £75k in age discrimination settlement
Print25 January 2024
Following the settlement of an age discrimination case, a sales manager at a renowned bakery in Northern Ireland has received £75,000 (€87,690) in compensation.
The Irish Times reports that Seamus Gillespie (60) worked for WD Irwin and Sons bakery from 1991 until August 2022, at which point he was made redundant.
Supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, the age discrimination case was settled without admission of liability from the bakery.
Gillepsie alleged he had been told in early 2021 that the bakery was looking for young workers from a “blue-chip background”, in the general context of the company recruiting new staff.
Gillepsie also alleged he was informed he would lose some accounts when a vacant post for a ‘business unit controller’ was filled. He believed this would cause him to lose a significant proportion of his work.
In September 2022, he was advised that his post was at risk of redundancy, and was subsequently placed in a redundancy pool of one.
In later redundancy meetings, Gillepsie alleged comments were made about the need to get some new blood.
Commenting after the settlement, Gillespie said he worked at Irwins for more than 30 years, and was a loyal employee who enjoyed his role.
“I firmly believed the decision to make me redundant was based solely on my age,” he claimed.
He felt he “had no choice but to challenge how I was treated” and despite being glad the case was settled, “would rather that none of this had happened in the first place”.
“[It] is imperative that employers have robust policies and practices in place to prevent any potential instances of age discrimination and that staff are adequately trained to use them,” said Geraldine McGahey, chief commissioner, Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.
WD Irwin and Sons Ltd denied any liability when settling the case and reaffirmed the business’s strong commitment to the principle of equality of opportunity in employment, as well as ensuring they comply with all their obligations under equality law.
The bakery has agreed to liaise with the Equality Commission to review policies, practices and procedures and their application, to ensure they are effective and conform with the requirements of the Employment Equality Age Regulations (NI) 2006.
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