Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise

Employee relationsEquality, diversity and inclusionEmployment tribunals

Tribunal says ‘stroppy kid’ jibe was harassment

by John Eccleston 10 Jun 2013
by John Eccleston 10 Jun 2013

An employment tribunal has found that a manager’s use of the words “kid”, “stroppy kid” and “stroppy teenager” amounted to harassment, after a young worker brought an age discrimination claim against her employer.

The employee, Ms Roberts, had a job at a high-street loans outlet store and was recruited despite initial reservations about her lack of experience.

After joining, Roberts was due to be trained by a colleague, Ms Peters, on the company’s procedures, but after a few weeks the training took the form of a written document that set out tasks Roberts was required to see to when coming into work.

The tribunal accepted that these written notes were “informal to the point of unprofessionalism” and that Peters was “not tolerant of, or patient with, the shortcomings of others or of the claimant”.

The colleague accepted that Peters had referred to Roberts as a “kid”, “stroppy kid” and “stroppy teenager” and had compared Roberts to her own teenage stepchildren.

Peters had become “convinced” that Roberts was incapable of doing the job and prepared a file on her “incapability”. On Roberts’ return from a holiday, she was called into a meeting without notice and dismissed on the spot.

Subsequently, Roberts brought a number of tribunal claims including age discrimination and unfair dismissal, although the latter was rejected because of insufficient service.

The employment tribunal found that the lack of a dismissal procedure was not influenced by Roberts’ youth, but found that some of the language used by Peters amounted to harassment on grounds of age.

Despite the “teenager” term being factually correct, it was found that it could be used to express a subjective value statement. In addition, the word “kid” was considered as potentially judgmental.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The tribunal concluded that, when Peters referred to Roberts’ age, it was done in a judgmental way. In doing so, the tribunal found she harassed Roberts using a stereotype that was related to the protected characteristic of age.

XpertHR has full coverage of this ruling, as well as an employment law manual on age discrimination.

John Eccleston

previous post
How to integrate wellbeing into an organisation
next post
A minute with… Andrew Lawson, head of people, Drake and Morgan

You may also like

Decision to sack man for Michael Jackson noises...

29 Aug 2025

Cabin crew manager with ‘flirty banter’ loses discrimination...

29 Aug 2025

Council clerk sacked after trying to ensure his...

29 Aug 2025

EHRC acts on policies flouting law on single-sex...

28 Aug 2025

MoD worker loses harassment claim over lack of...

27 Aug 2025

Café worker awarded £22k after being too cold...

26 Aug 2025

Data bias means gender pay gap wider than...

26 Aug 2025

Exec hauled over coals for sleeping in sauna...

22 Aug 2025

Lidl enters agreement with EHRC to prevent sexual...

22 Aug 2025

Space X scores court win against US National...

22 Aug 2025

  • Work smart – stay well: Avoid unnecessary pain with centred ergonomics SPONSORED | If you often notice...Read more
  • Elevate your L&D strategy at the World of Learning 2025 SPONSORED | This October...Read more
  • How to employ a global workforce from the UK (webinar) WEBINAR | With an unpredictable...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Recruitment & retention
    • Wellbeing
    • Occupational Health
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise