Employee is made redundant when role is given to a younger applicant

October 2021

Fred* was an older employee whose role was affected during a company restructure.

He was advised that he and his other older colleague were unsuccessful in reapplying for their roles and were offered redundancy payments. Fred felt the company terminated them because of their age as their roles went to younger applicants.

He made a complaint to the Fair Work Commission about his termination and applied for a new job with another employer. Fred felt victimised when he discovered his former employer contacted his new employer and told them that he had made a complaint to Fair Work Commission for unlawful termination.

Fred complained to ADNSW of age discrimination.

Fred’s former employer denied discriminating against Fred because of his age and said the successful applicant had been the most qualified for the position. They agreed that they had been in contact with Fred’s new employer to give an employee reference, but denied saying anything about Fred’s Fair Work Commission application to victimise him.

At conciliation, both parties agreed to Fred receiving an additional redundancy payment which settled the complaint.

*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the individual.