A woman turned down for a job as a judge’s clerk has lost her age discrimination claim against the Ministry of Justice.

Despite her experience in legal administration, the Law Society Gazette reports, she was unsuccessful in her job application following an interview in March 2020. As a result, she went on to make three allegations of unfavourable treatment, saying she was discriminated against because of her age (over 55 at the time of the interview) and passed over for the job in favour of candidates in their 20s.

Discrimination does not just apply to so-called ‘old’ age; it can affect all age groups. Discrimination can occur when someone’s age is considered a factor in a work-related scenario.

After a four-day hearing at the London Central Employment Tribunal, Employment Judge A James said MoJ staff who oversaw the interview process were not biased against the claimant, whether because of her age or for any other reason. According to the Law Society Gazette, scores given to the claimant were a ‘reasonable reflection’ of her answers and it was found all candidates were treated in the same way by being marked at the end of their interview and the results subject to a panel discussion.

The Tribunal heard that HM Courts & Tribunals Service had been recruiting 30 judges’ clerks in total.

In conclusion, the Tribunal found that the claimant was not appointed because she did not reach the required standard at interview, and that someone in the 20-25 age bracket would not have been appointed either. The Tribunal accepted that the claimant perceived ‘animosity’ towards her, and there was an awkward moment at the end of the interview when she offered to shake hands (the pandemic was in its very early stages at the time), but there was not evidence of discrimination. Furthermore, the two-month delay in providing feedback requested by the claimant was due to the highly unusual circumstances at the time and had nothing to do with her age. The claim was dismissed.