UK: Job Applications And Age Discrimination

The Equality Tribunal in the Republic of Ireland has recently published its decision in Cunningham v BMS Sales Ltd - an age discrimination claim brought against a recruitment company - which is likely to be relevant in the UK.

The facts of this case were that, at an early stage of the interview process, the claimant was asked to complete a form which had questions relating to his age - including: ‘age’, ‘date of birth’, ‘living with parents/ renting/ mortgaged accommodation’ and ‘number of children’. The claimant pointed out that such questions were ‘irrelevant and invasive’ and refused to answer them. He queried why it was necessary to state his age and date of birth, because it was not relevant to his employment. When he was pressed on this, the claimant gave an incorrect age, but did not give his date of birth. Subsequently, the respondent sought to pursue the issue of his age with the claimant and told him that, without this information, the respondent would not be able to process his application. He refused to provide this information, and was not put forward for a job, despite being suitable for it.

The Equality Officer found that the respondent had not progressed the claimant’s application because the claimant was reluctant to provide age-related information, and then gave an incorrect age. In light of this, it was held that the claimant had been discriminated against on the grounds of his age.

Whilst most employers would not take such an extreme position as the respondent did here, the circumstances of this case serve as a reminder to employers of the potential pitfalls they may face with job application forms.