Jewellery shop worker, 60, loses case over claim boss called him an ‘old git’

Judge rules Ashok Ahir failed to prove boss made ‘belittling’ comment during meal with colleagues

The tribunal judge ruled Ashok Ahir had not proved Jeremy Hinds (pictured) as made an offensive comment about him (Facebook)

A jewellery shop worker has sued his boss for age discrimination for allegedly calling him an “old git”, an employment tribunal heard.

Ashok Ahir, 60, claimed his boss Jeremy Hinds at F Hinds made the remark after he revealed his ex-girlfriend owned a Mazda MX5.

He said he was “shocked, offended, and humiliated” by the “belittling” comment made during a dinner with two other colleagues in Shropshire almost two years ago.

Mr Hinds denied making a comment like that at any time and said Mr Ahir had not raised it during an internal grievance process.

Having heard both sides of the allegation, Judge Monica Daley said: “The tribunal carefully considered the evidence as set out in Jeremy Hinds' notes; it noted that there was no record of this having been reported at the time.

“The remark was not included in the original grievance, and [Mr Ahir's line manager] denies that the remark had been reported to him.

“Having considered all the evidence, the tribunal could not be satisfied that the remark had been made on a balance of probabilities.

“The tribunal found that claimant failed to establish facts from which, in the absence of any other explanation, point to a contravention of the Equality Act having occurred. Accordingly, the claim for direct discrimination fails.”