News
Another warning for serial claimants
19 November 2010
Scammers seeking to make money by frightening recruiters into settling claims have been given another warning by the Employment Appeal Tribunal.Late last year the EAT ruled (in Keane v Investigo) that an applicant for a job who has no interest in accepting it if offered has no claim for discrimination if the application is unsuccessful.
This time John Berry, who is thought to have taken legal action against more than 60 firms in three years over the ‘discriminatory' advertisements, which he says alienate older applicants, and whose exploits were reported by Metro earlier this year has failed to convince the EAT that tribunals were wrong to strike out or dismiss claims he lodged to try to pressure firms to settle with him.
The EAT observed:
"the purpose of the Regulations is not to provide a source of income for persons who complain of arguably discriminatory advertisements for job vacancies which they have in fact no wish or intention to fill, and that those who try to exploit the Regulations for financial gain in such circumstances are liable, as happened to the claimant in the Investigo case, to find themselves facing a liability for costs."