The article “Demand for lawyers grows as redundancies loom” (November 6) carries a quote from a human resources consultants executive to the effect that the redundancy formula of “last in, first out” risks falling foul of age discrimination law, and that the maximum compensatory award if you get this wrong is £63,000.
The maximum compensation if you succeed in a claim for unfair dismissal is £63,000. There is, however, no limit to the compensation if you are successful in bringing a claim for unlawful age discrimination.
Hence, if a tribunal found that the redundancy formula of “last in, first out” was unlawful age discrimination, it could award unlimited damages.
Harjit Grewal,
London EC4, UK
(Barrister specialising in Employment Law)
Financial Times 11.11.08
