Ageism | Firm thought worker would accept huge workloads & no promotions. It cost them £96k

An ex-employee has won nearly £100,000 after bosses were found to have overlooked her for promotions because of her age.

An employment tribunal found that Rachel Sunderland, a designer at Superdry, was denied multiple chances at career progression in favour of less experienced colleagues. The case heard that this was partly because, as a woman in her 50s, bosses deemed her a ‘low flight risk’ and was likely to stay at the company “no matter how she was treated”.

The tribunal heard that Sunderland, who worked for the fashion firm between 2015 and 2020, claimed the “recruitment, promotion and recognition of other (younger) individuals... undermined [her] standing within Superdry’s design team”.

Feeling “demoted” by her treatment, Sunderland handed in her notice in July 2020, eventually leaving that September. She told the tribunal that, in the lead up to this, she had felt much frustration and emotional stress, and decided that “enough was enough”.