Yesterday, an Employment Tribunal in the UK ruled on the country’s first employment discrimination case involving a worker fired for being too young. The Tribunal sided with 20-year-old Megan Thomas, a former membership secretary at the Eight Members Club in London.  Ms. Thomas complained that her boss told her “she was too young and if he had met [her] a few years later there may not have been a problem,” according to a story by the UK’s Times Online.

The Eight Members Club (which, in actuality, has about 800 members) is a private club that ensures “privacy and exclusivity” to its members so that “every detail of your time at eight is nothing short of perfection.” A spokesperson for the club denied firing Ms. Thomas because of her age, but rather because she was an unsatisfactory worker:

“It’s a very strange ruling because this is a young person’s business and many of the waiters and waitresses working here are the same age or even younger than Megan. She had finished her six months’ probation and had made some mistakes, so we decided to end her employment.”

Unfortunately for Ms. Thomas, landmark rulings don’t always equate to landmark fees and penalties. She’s expected to be compensated in the four digit range, however that number could possibly dip under the £1,000 mark. Not to worry, though, as she has already secured a higher paying job. As she puts it:

“I secured new employment on a higher salary of £25,000 on 7 August, 2007. I enjoy my new job where the employer treats me with respect and does not look down on me because of my age.”