John McCririck’s age discrimination claim: update

A quick update on the claim for age discrimination brought by John McCririck against Channel 4.

In a recent preliminary hearing, the court has ruled on the issue of whether McCririck was in fact an employee of Channel 4. The latter had argued that McCririck was employed by Highflyer, and not an employee of their company.

But as reported here in The Telegraph, the judge as ruled otherwise, saying there was “no legal obstacle” to bringing his claim and thus paving the way for a full employment tribunal. Part of the rationale for this was that McCririck was “known as a Channel 4 face,” and that “Highflyer and Channel 4 promoted him as part of the Channel 4 ‘team’”.

So whilst it’s true that no judicial decisions have been made on the substantive issue of age discrimination, in todays’ often complex employment arrangements, this is an interesting development. For one thing, it illustrates the various hurdles that a claimant needs to negotiate even to bring themselves within the jurisdiction of the court.