A former cleaner has won more than 7,000 in compensation from Barclays Bank after she was refused insurance benefits because she worked part-time.

Sylvia Hayes, 57, worked for 15 hours a week at Windale First School at Blackbird Leys, Oxford, when she took out a loan, with insurance protection.

But when Mrs Hayes retired through ill health a year ago she was told she was not eligible to claim insurance benefits on the loan because she worked fewer than 16 hours a week. The Equal Opportunities Commission backed her case, claiming indirect sex discrimination because fewer women than men worked at least 16 hours a week.

Mrs Hayes, who was paid 7,240 in an out of court settlement, said: I'm very relieved that this has finally been sorted out as it has caused me a lot of worry.

Julie Mellor, chairman of the EOC, said: Access to financial services should not be determined simply on the basis of hours worked.

I very much hope that financial service providers will review their policies to ensure that they are not based on discriminatory assumptions about part-time workers' job security or earning capacity.