10th September 2010
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- Serial claimants on the rise
- Compensation limit rates rise
- Flexible working extension back
- Pension Act 2008
- Agency Workers Directive
- Fit notes to replace sick notes
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Serial claimants on the rise
The Daily Mail was only one of several papers carrying the story of Margaret Keane before Christmas – a woman who had made up to £100,000 by claiming 22 separate organisations had discriminated against her because of her age.
The 50 year old Mrs. Keane, a qualified Chartered Accountant, applied for roles advertised as being suitable for ‘newly qualified’ or ‘entry – level’ accountants and when she received letters rejecting her application telephoned demanding to know the reason. She then commenced Tribunal proceedings against the first 11 companies, 6 of whom settled before the cases came before a Central London Tribunal.
The irony of Mrs. Keane’s case is that the publicity that she attracted in December was because another Tribunal – in Watford – rejected her claims. Despite this rejection, the anecdotal evidence is that her earlier success has been sufficiently attractive to encourage others down the same route and employers would be well advised to handle rejections of any potential applicant extremely carefully in the current climate.
