Druces LLP has won a high profile unfair dismissal and age discrimination case against Credit Suisse, on behalf of its client Tony Shiret, a well known and highly regarded City analyst. In a Judgment, dated 25 July 2013, Employment Judge Brown at East London Employment Tribunal, ruled that Credit Suisse had acted in a “discriminatory and unfair way” when rating Mr Shiret’s performance as part of a programme of redundancies aimed at reducing the number of staff in its pan- European equity department.

Tony Shiret, aged 55, who had worked for the bank for 18 years, had been significantly older than other employees in the redundancy pool, when he was dismissed in June 2011. In her ruling Judge Brown stated that the inference drawn from Credit Suisse’s actions was that Mr Shiret’s selection for redundancy was on account of his age rather than for any other credible reason and that Credit Suisse had failed to prove that this was not the case, stating that: “[the] explanation for the very low scores he awarded the Claimant for performance and potential was not credible”.

Toby Stroh, the partner who lead the employment team representing Mr Shiret stated that he was “delighted with the outcome for his client, which had been eagerly awaited” and that the ruling “should serve as a warning across the City about the dangers of trying to remove an employee for artificial reasons when the true reason for the dismissal is nothing more than the individual’s age”.