An ET has found that an NHS Foundation Trust discriminated against a male applicant based on his age and sex, as they concluded he would not be the “best fit” in a team of younger females despite being the highest ranked candidate. People Management report that despite C being the highest-scoring candidate, (a younger female candidate, known as KM, was close behind him, who described herself as a ‘millennial’ and a ‘feminist’ on social media), the ET said the evidence appeared to show the panel, including Dr Charlotte Lee, who would also have been C’s line manager, proceeded to discuss who to select for the role on the basis of who would be the “best fit”. Dr Lee informed C he had be unsuccessful and the ET accepted his evidence that Lee’s decision to not employ him was that she had said she was “uncomfortable” asking him to do things “given you have an 11-year-old daughter”. Lee had also said that, given C’ maturity, it was “better to employ someone at an early stage of their career as they would then progress to develop their career over a longer period elsewhere in the NHS”. C had met the team he would work with and they had questioned whether he was too experienced, how Dr Lee would manage him and that he was “nothing like/very different” to the previous post holder who was in her twenties. The Trust was ordered to pay £5,000 by way of injury to feelings, together with interest of £969.86.
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