A 42-year-old banker has won an age discrimination ruling against his employer after being made redundant during the credit crisis in 2008, it has emerged.
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) is facing a potentially large payout after the London South Employment Tribunal last week upheld Achim Beck’s case for age discrimination, the Times has reported.
Beck, the bank’s head of marketing based in London, was let go as part of a broader redundancy programme at the bank. However, criteria for a new marketing executive, set out in an internal memo, stipulated that the new person should fit a “younger, entrepeneurial profile”.
The tribunal was told that the word “younger” was used despite the bank’s head of London human resources describing it as “inappropriate”.
Beck, a German national, earned about £900,000 a year and was replaced by a 38-year-old. His related claims of direct and indirect race discrimination were dismissed.
Compensation for age discrimination is unlimited at tribunal. The award will be decided at a later hearing.
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