Sacked plumber, 69, dubbed 'Half-dead Dave' wins £25,000 for age discrimination

A skilled plumber, dubbed "Half-dead Dave" by his colleagues has been awarded £25,000 after a tribunal found he had been unfairly sacked because of his age.

David Robson, who was 69 at the time he was dismissed was, was given the nickname by his colleagues and was eventually picked up by his managers.

Robson was left "humiliated" by the nickname, with staff regularly using the term "half-dead" to identify him to people.

Staff claimed it was banter by Robson said it left him feeling "saddened and embarrassed," leaving him unable and unwilling to discuss it with his family.

Robson has been a qualified plumber for 55 years and had worked for Clarke's Mechanical Ltd on the Isle of Wight for eight years.

He was the oldest member of the 17 strong team of gas engineers and plumbers.

He later lost his job after the company made him redundant using a point scoring system he and the other plumbers were unaware of.

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He was among the lowest-rated staff members, with only the junior trainees above him.

After the company lost out on a £650,000 contract Robson was the first person to be told he would be made redundant.

His employer listed a job advert for a skilled plumber and gas fitter, which Robson was, soon after telling him he would be sacked.

The employment tribunal found there was "no justification" for the low scores awarded to Robson, who is now 71.

He was awarded three out of five for skills, despite a manager who was not a trained gas engineer like Robson being awarded a five.

He was also given a two out of five for performance despite no record of performance issues.

The tribunal also found his "half-dead" nickname that proved his status as the oldest employee contributed to the decision to sack him.

The company owners said this was not the case as the nickname had been used for years.

During an incident in 2015, his manager Lee Pitman told another employee to give some equipment to Robson.

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Pitman told the tribunal: "I think Tom hadn't worked with Dave and he said 'Who's Dave?', and I said Half-dead Dave because that is what I thought they all called him on site."

The tribunal heard the employee then handed Robson the plumbing fittings saying: "Here you are, Half-dead".

Pitman said there was no malice in the nickname, saying it was "just banter."

Robson told the tribunal: "It was saddening. To me, the most saddening thing was that the term originated from a member of the management. It came from him [Pitman].

"I also had a nickname of Disco Dave but he didn't use that. 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."

Robson said he never asked anyone to stop calling him that.

The tribunal ruled Robson had been discriminated against due to his age and was unfairly sacked, he was given £25,000 in compensation - £7,000 just for the nickname.

Employment Judge Martha Felicity Street ruled he had been discriminated against because of his age "plain and simple."

She said: '[The nickname] caused detriment. Mr Robson put up with it, but he did not like it, he was uncomfortable and saddened and embarrassed.