Bad Policy Hits UK Parking Co. Hard

A parking company in Britain is paying a high price for a bad policy.

Purple Parking, Britain’s largest airport parking provider, has admitted to age discrimination against its employees and has been ordered to make restitution. The company told its employees they could no longer work after the age of 67 because its insurance policy would not cover them. The truth is, Purple Parking asked its insurance company to impose the age limit. Some 21 staff member smelled that fish and took the company to court. They won. According to The Independent:

Now, the company which also runs parking services at dozens of other UK airports, has been ordered to pay up to £78,000 each to the 21 employees who took it to the Tribunal. In total, the awards come to more than £150,000.

We all have concerns about the elderly and their driving and parking habits – and I’m not saying 67 is elderly. A friend of mine once revealed that her 85-year-old grandmother still drove even though she had no peripheral vision in either eye and could not turn her head to the left.

We’ve all seen the worst of it and have reason to worry. But the Purple Parking method is not the way to go about it. Keeping safe drivers on your payroll doesn’t have to be managed through age discrimination, because not all older drivers are bad drivers. Requiring regular evaluations of the drivers and their passengers is a simple policy that can ensure everyone’s safety.

Mistakes like these happen. Sometimes a questionable idea turns in to a devastating action. In this case, 21 employees lost their jobs. But Purple Parking made sure to safeguard the insurance of its 67 and older management and their spouses by asking its insurance provider to exclude them from the “new” policy. That makes this “mistake” seem a lot more like really bad business.

Read the rest of the article here.