12:05 pm, July 15, 2013
A CAR salesman has allegedly been told that his career at a used car dealership was over because of his age.
Gary Hawkins, 52, from Sutton Coldfield, said his bosses at CC Automotive Group Ltd told him he was ‘too old’ to work, an employment tribunal heard.
According to the Birmingham Mail, Hawkins is now seeking compensation for age discrimination and unfair dismissal.
Bosses at the dealership, which trades in Wednesbury as Carcraft, denied dismissing the car sales manager because of his age.
Instead, they argued that Hawkins lost his job for failing to motivate his team and train them to the ‘required standards’.
Hawkins alleged two managers were sacked in one day, while another resigned. He claimed ‘he was looking for another to be dismissed. The third to be dismissed was me.’
Hawkins insisted that he had been sacked because of his age, having been told, ‘you are too old at 52’.
Hawkins denied that his showroom performance had been below standard and argued that regular team meetings were held in order to discuss ways of improving sales along with training techniques.
Carcraft stressed that age was never an issue and that there had been issues over a ‘number count’ of customers and sales logs.
The tribunal heard that other roles had been offered to Hawkins, but he had refused to move.
The tribunal’s decision is expected next month.
