The Employes Forum on Age (EFA) has urged government to take age discrimination seriously following Selina Scott’s high profile settlement after claiming age discrimination.

Scott, 57, sued Channel 5 claiming she was in line to cover Natasha Kaplinsky’s maternity leave but was then overlooked. Scott’s settlement follows the publication of figures, from the the Tribual Service, that show age discrimination claims rose from 962 in 2006 to 2,940 in 2007.

Catharine Pusey, director of EFA, says: “The rise in age discrimination claims is an expected consequence of the 2006 age legislation and the changing demographics of the workforce mean that there are more and more workers over the age of 65. High profile cases like that of Selina Scott will make even more people realise that they should not be judged on their age but on their skills and suitability for the role.  As things currently stand, we agree with the predictions from lawyers that the number of claims will continue to rise steeply over the next few years.”