£4.5m claim fails

Bloxham v Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Central London Employment Tribunal) 9 October

Peter Bloxham, the former Head of Restructuring at Freshfields, claimed £4.5m for age discrimination as a result of changes to Freshfields’ pension scheme. He claimed the changes forced him into retirement at the age of 54 and to accept a 20% discount on the pension he had expected to receive. Partners aged 55 were able to retire with their full entitlement. The claim was dismissed on the grounds that although direct discrimination against the claimant had been proved, it was legally justifiable, as ‘a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’. The pension scheme had been changed, because it was increasingly disadvantaging younger partners and was unsustainable.