The Workplace Relations Commission found that a financial services provider did not discriminate on age grounds when it refused a manager’s application for voluntary redundancy. Adjudication Officer Stephen Bonnlander dated the decision 13 April 2018.
The manager said his personal circumstances and commute had not been properly considered and that colleagues’ appeals succeeded. The provider said it assessed applicants’ skills, travel and personal circumstances, and denied age was a factor.
The officer found the provider had contracted with and paid the arbitrator who heard the manager’s appeal, so it was responsible for the appeal outcome. But there was no discernible age difference between successful and unsuccessful applicants: four applicants over 50, including the manager, were unsuccessful, and four were successful. The officer also found the manager’s commute was not unduly difficult and that his disappointment over changed benefits did not establish discrimination. The age discrimination complaint was dismissed.