Lawyers digest ramifications of BBC ageism case
Miriam O’Reilly's successful unfair dismissal case against the BBC on the grounds of ageism has opened up a real can of worms for broadcasters, promising big ramifications for the small screen.
The 53-year-old yesterday won an employment tribunal after claiming she had been unfairly dropped as a presenter of Countryfile in 2009.
David Hoey, a partner specialising in employment law at bto solicitors, told The Drum: “The bottom line is that it is unlawful to discriminate against someone because of their age if you cannot justify such treatment on specific grounds. Wanting younger people by itself is not enough and Tribunals will expect clear (and non-discriminatory) reasons for such treatment.
“Broadcasters will have to be careful to base their decisions on legitimate factors with a paper trail to back up their decisions. The justification for such treatment will need to be carefully considered and ideally backed by evidence. The BBC case failed because there was no such evidence available and it was not possible to properly justify the action.”
The judgement has limited relevance to advertisers as Hoey says: “The judgment focused on alleged unlawful discrimination in relation to a worker which is different from the position applicable to advertisers.”
As a result of the ruling O’Reilly is now in line for a £150k payout and speculation is rife that she could return to her former role, on an increased salary. Ironically her former boss, the BBCs head of rural affairs Andrew Thorman, now faces losing his own job over the affair.