Wife sues ex-husband for age discrimination after he left her for a younger woman

An accountant who sued her ex-husband for age discrimination when she thought he’d left her for a younger woman has won almost £9,000 after he sacked her.

Tim Belson has been ordered by an employment tribunal to pay compensation to his ex-wife Eleanor, after firing her from his upmarket jewellery business as their relationship fell apart.

The couple split two-and-a-half years ago and since then Eleanor has brought four cases against her former spouse.

Even now, the latest tribunal noted, the couple cannot reach an ‘amicable’ divorce settlement and at the hearing to decide damages accused each other of lying while arguing over ‘almost every point of the evidence’.

Eleanor first sued her ex in April 2022 when she began tribunal proceedings claiming he was ‘ageist’ in ending their marriage.

The claim was one of many extraordinary allegations the 61-year-old made against her husband of 11 years, insisting at a hearing that he was taking ‘revenge’ by firing her.

The case revealed details about the married couple’s ‘very acrimonious’ divorce including squabbles over Thames riverside penthouses worth millions of pounds.

It also featured accusations that she had an affair with an elderly neighbour, ‘Mr Y’, who changed his will to benefit her by $1 million, trips to Antigua, missing Picasso prints, ‘sex objects’ being sent through the post, and jibes about Mrs Belson’s ‘poor cooking skills’.

Mrs Belson even alleged that her 72-year-old ex-husband stole £91,500 from a trust fund which belonged to a disabled care home resident – ‘Mr X’ – claiming he was guilty of money laundering, financial abuse and embezzlement.

Following the week long hearing in central London in April, the accountant’s discrimination claims were dismissed after the tribunal ruled that it was actually her who left the marriage and that Mr Belson’s new girlfriend is in fact older than her.

However, she won her claim of unfair dismissal for which she has now been awarded £8,922.50 in compensation.

Deciding on the award, the panel – chaired by Employment Judge Holly Stout – said: ‘Between the summer of 2021 and the termination of the [Mrs Belson’s] employment the relationship between [her] and Mr Belson (in all its respects: marital, personal and work) broke down – in our judgment, irretrievably.

‘Both parties conducted themselves in a way that was calculated or likely to destroy the relationship of trust and confidence between them and which did as a matter of fact in our judgment destroy that relationship.

‘Both parties accused each other of lying and malpractice during this period. [Mrs Belson] for her part accused Mr Belson (among other things) of accounting malpractice, of theft from Person X (both of the trust fund money and a locket), of forging her signature and other documents, of lying about the rental of their flat.

‘He accused her of lying about her whereabouts, about her relationship with Mr Y and many other matters. They both accused each other of lying about property they owned and taking/retaining property belonging to the other and they both contacted the police about each other’s conduct.

‘Moreover, they continue with this conduct. At this hearing, they levelled at each other further accusations of lying. They argued about almost every point of the evidence.

‘They have been unable as yet to reach an amicable settlement in relation to their divorce even though their split took place now 2.5 years ago.

‘[Mrs Belson] has brought not only these legal proceedings against Mr Belson, but also has brought or supported at least three other sets of legal proceedings that we have heard about.’

Mr and Mrs Belson married in 2009 and she worked as book-keeper at his company in Hatton Garden, London, called Jewellery Validation Service, which trades as Prestige Valuations.

Their relationship began to sour in 2021 as Mr Belson alleged his wife went on holiday with an elderly neighbour and started an affair with him – which she denies.

In 2022 negotiations to remove her from the jewellery business amid the divorce were derailed, as Mr Belson brought forward her exit from the company by sacking her immediately.

He claimed she had been made redundant, but the tribunal found he had dismissed her unfairly.

Mrs Belson’s claims of age, disability and marital status discrimination as well as whistle blowing detriments all failed.

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