A jewellery shop worker has sued his boss for age discrimination for allegedly calling him an “old git”, an employment tribunal heard.
Ashok Ahir, 60, claimed his boss Jeremy Hinds at F Hinds made the remark after he revealed his ex-girlfriend owned a Mazda MX5.
He said he was “shocked, offended, and humiliated” by the “belittling” comment made during a dinner with two other colleagues in Shropshire almost two years ago.
Mr Hinds denied making a comment like that at any time and said Mr Ahir had not raised it during an internal grievance process.
Having heard both sides of the allegation, Judge Monica Daley said: “The tribunal carefully considered the evidence as set out in Jeremy Hinds' notes; it noted that there was no record of this having been reported at the time.
“The remark was not included in the original grievance, and [Mr Ahir's line manager] denies that the remark had been reported to him.
“Having considered all the evidence, the tribunal could not be satisfied that the remark had been made on a balance of probabilities.
“The tribunal found that claimant failed to establish facts from which, in the absence of any other explanation, point to a contravention of the Equality Act having occurred. Accordingly, the claim for direct discrimination fails.”
