A designer who resigned from fashion brand Superdry has been awarded nearly £100,000 by an Employment Tribunal after it refused to promote her due to her age.
Rachel Sunderland, a knitwear designer with more than 30 years’ experience working in the industry, was employed by the retailer between 2015 and 2020. The 56-year-old quit in 2020 after being repeatedly passed over for promotion by less experienced members of staff.
The Tribunal heard how Superdry thought the risk of her leaving the company was low “no matter how she was treated” and the retailer failed to promote her or grant her the job title of lead designer, despite her experience.
The Tribunal notes state:
“We find that the claimant did resign from her post as a result of these acts and omissions. We accept that the claimant had every reason to anticipate promotion to lead designer status. She had been given no clear and satisfactory explanation as to why she had not been promoted, which would have allowed her to understand what was required of her in order to gain promotion.”
In April 2020, Sunderland was placed on furlough until July. When she returned to the business, she was told she would be designing the Autumn Winter 2020 knitted accessories range, which she said “felt like a demotion” as she would be working on “key fobs and beanies”.
She handed in her notice of July that year. “Despite being angry and upset”, she said she wanted to leave Superdry in as “pleasant a manner as possible” – but was told she would have to work a three-month notice period as the design department was short staffed. The Tribunal heard she was "demoralised" when, in September 2020, a woman with 20 years less experience than her was hired as a lead designer shortly after two other similarly ranked designers were made redundant.
Following a five-day hearing, Superdry was ordered to pay Ms Sunderland £96,208.70 in compensation for unfair dismissal and age discrimination. It is against the law to discriminate against anyone with certain protected characteristics, one of which is age.
In a statement on LinkedIn, Sunderland said:
“The Employment Tribunal's recent decision to uphold my claim against Superdry for unfair dismissal and age discrimination has brought an end to one of the most painful and stressful periods of my life. As a fashion designer with more than 25 years of experience with companies including Fatface, Boden, Monsoon, Ralph Lauren, Versace, Gap and M&S, I was so excited to join Superdry in 2015. In my first season there, my solo designs increased mens’ knitwear sales by 63%. I gave everything I had to my role at Superdry as I designed across various important categories. But I soon realised that I was being treated very differently from my younger colleagues.
“As a mum in her mid-50s, I was consistently denied the seniority, title and compensation that my level of hard work, skills, performance and results deserved. When an ever-increasing and unreasonable workload pushed me to the brink of emotional collapse, I left the company. That decision, and the decision to hold Superdry accountable, were the most difficult I’ve ever made.
The Tribunal’s judgment has given me more than just financial compensation for Superdry’s mistreatment. It validated that my decision to leave Superdry and speak the truth were not in vain. I’m deeply grateful to the Tribunal for listening and thoughtfully considering all the evidence. I hope this judgment sends a clear message to anyone suffering from unfair or discriminatory treatment at work: Do not be afraid to speak up for what's right and seek justice.”
A Superdry spokesman said:
“Superdry is committed to equality for all of its employees. While the Tribunal’s judgment does not reflect our culture and values, we thank it for conducting such a thorough review, respect its decision and will review its findings.”