An employment tribunal found that Age UK broke the law in its treatment of a 59-year-old graphic designer after his job application was not considered due to a technical error.

The claimant, who is disabled, was not invited to an interview despite Age UK being part of a scheme guaranteeing an interview to disabled job candidates who meet the essential criteria.

While the failure to invite him to an interview was a genuine error, the charity subsequently “embarked on a self-serving exercise of shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted”, the tribunal judge ruled.

The charity conducted an internal review of the man’s original application against the essential criteria and concluded, among other things, that his portfolio was “not reflective of 40 years’ experience”.

This “imposed a higher standard upon the claimant than the ‘must have’ for the role” and “simply would not have been said of a candidate with five years’ experience”, the tribunal found.

The man was awarded a total sum of £4,316.50, comprising £4,000 in compensation for injury to feelings plus interest.