'They lack work ethic' | Worker sues over 'noisy, boisterous' younger staff disrupting her job

An employment tribunal has dismissed claims of age discrimination and harassment brought by an older administrator who said she was undermined by younger, “noisy” colleagues and unmanageable performance targets.

Ms Catherine Ritchie worked as a booking administrator at Goom Electrical Ltd from December 2020 until her resignation in September 2022. Aged 66 when she began working there, she was the oldest employee in the office, with most of her colleagues in their twenties and thirties.

She told the tribunal she found the environment “very noisy”, "boisterous" and unprofessional, saying that colleagues spent time “chatting and socialising on work time” when they “were not paid to socialise” and that she “had difficulty in watching such time wasting and low productivity.”

She said this behaviour distracted her when making calls and that tenants could hear background noise, which she found embarrassing.

Her grievance also raised concerns about unmanageable KPIs, after her daily call target was raised from 100 to 120 without consultation. She said the increase was unfair given her additional administrative duties and problems with the accuracy of data provided.