A pharmacy worker has won a £15,000 age discrimination payout after her younger colleagues kept mocking her at work, a tribunal heard.
Sue Walsh - who was 63 at the time - was repeatedly taunted at the chemists where she worked by staff 40 years younger, who would yell 'Sue! Sue! Sue!' when she didn't hear them.
The staff, who were as young as 17, would also say 'you can't hear, can you?' in front of customers.
But her complaints were ignored by bosses who told her to 'just smile and get on with the job'.
The hearing in Liverpool was told that Ms Walsh started working at St Chad's chemist in Oldham, Greater Manchester as a counter assistant in April 2017.
"(She) was mocked at work from the outset," the employment tribunal heard. "The younger staff would call her and when she had not heard and so could not respond [they] would repeatedly call her name.
"They shouted through from the dispensary to her at her counter until she had heard or was made aware by a customer by which time the calling out had become louder and hostile.
"They called her name 'Sue, Sue, Sue!' and called 'You can't hear can you?' and they did this in front of each other and in front of customers in the shop.
"(She) was mocked for sometimes not being able to remember things and having to ask a colleague. When she had to ask a colleague a question they said, 'Not again, you have already asked me this!'."
"The mocking for both hearing and memory related reasons generated a climate at work which was hostile to (her). It was related to her age. They did not mock each other when they forgot things or misheard something."
The tribunal heard Ms Walsh's manager, Russell Nolan, was aged 24, while other members of staff were also aged in their 20s and another was just 17. One other colleague was aged in their 50s.
As a result of the mocking, Ms Walsh became so embarrassed she went to her GP and ended up getting a hearing aid fitted. But the abuse did not stop.
In May 2018 she complained to Martin Molyneux, director of the pharmacy owners Rose Medical.
"He told her to let it go over her head, ignore them, come in, just smile and get on with the job," the tribunal heard. "She said she had done that but it had not gone away.
"He made some remark to the effect that they were just kids and she should let it go. She said 'but I'm 63 not 21. I shouldn't have to just let it go. They laugh and joke about it.'"
Ms Walsh said that following her complaint she was subjected to increasing criticism of her work by Mr Nolan who at one point asked how long she had until retirement.
In September 2018, Ms Walsh - who had arthritis - suffered a fall at work and hurt her back leading her to ring in sick. Mr Molyneux decided this was the 'last straw', the tribunal heard, and fired her the following week.
At the tribunal he claimed she had been fired due to poor performance.
But the panel concluded that she had been the victim of both age and disability discrimination.
Ms Walsh was awarded £15,649.13 by the tribunal including £13,000 for injury to feelings.
