Plumber, 69, awarded £25,000 after bosses called him ‘Half-dead Dave’ because of his age

A 69 year-old plumber has been awarded £25,000 after his bosses called him “Half-dead Dave” because of his age.

An employment tribunal heard David Robson was often labelled “Half-dead” by his co-workers on site – a “derogatory” name later picked up by his bosses – which left him feeling “saddened and embarrassed”.

His bosses claimed the name-calling was just “banter”, but Mr Robson later lost his job when the company selected him for redundancy using a points system which rated him lower than his colleagues.

His score for “performance” was the lowest other than that of a junior trainee, the tribunal heard.

The first staff member of three to be laid off, he was told he was to be made redundant due to a “downturn in workload”, and was awarded £6,300 in redundancy pay. He had 55 years’ experience on the job.

The tribunal ruled the system was unfair, adding there was “no justification” for the low scores and his nickname proved that his status as the oldest employee at the firm had influenced their decision to sack Mr Robson.

Despite his bosses arguing that the nickname had been used years in advance of his redundancy – and that “Disco Dave” had been the name used more often by staff – the tribunal ruled Mr Robson had been discriminated against due to his age and unfairly sacked.

As a result, Mr Robson received £25,000 in compensation, £7,000 of which was awarded for the “name-calling” alone.

Mr Robson said: “When we [came] to the end of all this and my daughter sat me down and said, ‘can we go through everything?’, she was upset ... You would be.

“To the end of my employment I was regularly referred to as Half-dead Dave. Lee Pitman called me that – he thought it was rather amusing.

“Half-dead, what, because I am old? It wasn’t easy to sit and explain to my family.

“I didn’t ask colleagues [to stop using the name]. I just thought, ‘Only a few years left at work, let’s just put up with it’. I didn’t want the distress of it all.”

Mr Robson had worked for Clarke’s Mechanical Ltd as a plumber for eight years before being dismissed, and was described as the “oldest skilled worker” out of “some 17 gas engineers/plumbers” at the Isle of Wight firm.

He received an overall score of 28, which was low given his experience and expertise.

Employment judge Martha Felicity Street said: “[The nickname] caused detriment. Mr Robson put up with it, but he did not like it, he was uncomfortable and saddened and embarrassed.

“In respect of the name-calling, Half-Dead Dave, the majority of the tribunal award a further £7,000.

“That reflects the long-standing use of the name and its frankly derogatory reference to his age.”

She added: “Mr Robson did not talk up his distress, but it was plain that he was distressed and embarrassed, distressed too when he was compelled to tell his family; it became the more painful on becoming known.

“It affected his confidence, it made him the more anxious for his job, in an environment where that conduct went without comment. He felt dealt with unfairly and felt unable to address it.

“This was discrimination on the grounds of age, plain and simple. Discrimination of any form is not just banter. That is accepted across society at large.”