Latest news with #EqualStatusAct2000
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Beauty salon discriminated against Travellers, WRC rules
A beauty salon has been ordered to pay a Traveller woman and her daughters €500 each in compensation for discrimination after insisting they pay cash up front for their beauty treatments. The Workplace Relations Commission has upheld complaints under the Equal Status Act 2000 by the woman and her two daughters against the unidentified beauty salon in a set of decisions published today. In her evidence to the tribunal, Ms A said she and her daughters went to the salon as a "birthday treat" for one of the girls, and on arrival was informed by a hairdresser that the business would "only accept cash". Upon inquiring about the full cost, the owner called Ms A to the counter and showed her a sum on a calculator, the complainant said. She said that she asked for an itemised breakdown of the figure, upon which the owner became "infuriated". Ms A said the owner struck the counter with two hands and said "something to the effect" of: "Do you want it for free? Are you trying to rob me?" The complainant added that the owner also threatened to call the police, and continued to be "rude and aggressive" to the point that one of her daughters became upset and suggested that they leave. Ms A said it was made clear she would have to pay up front for all the procedures, and that one of the hairdressers also suggested she "run across the road to the ATM". She said that before she went out, the hairdresser told her the reason the owner had behaved as she had was because a group of girls had been in the week before and failed to pay for procedures. The hairdresser said this group were "also Travellers", the complainant said in her evidence. Ms A said that having paid up front as requested, other customers who had been in line behind her and her family were served ahead of her. It was "so obvious" that this was happening, the complainant said, that another customer, a member of the settled community, noticed one of her daughters was "visibly upset" and offered to let the girl go ahead of her. "Other customers who were not members of the Traveller community were not asked to pay for their treatments up front," the complainant told the hearing, adding that she knew because she had asked two other customers and they had confirmed this to her. Sinead Lucey, managing solicitor at the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC), submitted that the insistence on cash up front, the fact that Ms A was "shouted at", and that Ms A and her daughters were left to queue longer all amounted to less favourable treatment of her clients as members of the Travelling community. Adjudication officer Orla Jones noted the failure of the business's management to attend a hearing on the case which was held in Dublin on 24 February this year. In her decision, Ms Jones wrote that she was satisfied Ms A and her daughters were subjected to less favourite treatment while being served at the salon on the grounds of their membership of the Traveller Community. She upheld the three complaints, awarding Ms A, Ms M and Ms K compensation of €500 each, totalling €1,500. Ms Jones anonymised all three of her decisions on the cases, also redacting the name of the business, in order to protect identities of the two underage complainants. In a press statement circulated today by FLAC, Ms A welcomed the WRC decision and offered thanks to the the non-profit legal support body, without which she said she could not have pursued the matter. Ms A said: "We did not take these cases for money… As a mother, I want my girls to know that people cannot and should not treat them badly because they come from the Traveller community." Eilis Barry, FLAC Chief Executive, said: "The family showed great bravery and resilience in taking these complaints. Unfortunately, there is no legal aid for victims of discrimination who take cases to the WRC. This means it is impossible for many people to challenge discrimination and to access compensation for its effects." Ms Barry called for the removal of the "blanket ban on legal aid for cases heard by tribunals like the WRC" and more support for legal services for the Travelling Community and "other groups with high levels of legal need".
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Beauty salon ordered to pay Traveller family in discrimination case after insisting on cash upfront
A beauty salon has been ordered to pay a Traveller woman and her daughters €500 each in compensation for discrimination after insisting they pay cash up front for their beauty treatments. The Workplace Relations Commission has upheld complaints under the Equal Status Act 2000 by the woman and her two daughters against the unidentified beauty salon in a set of decisions published today.
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
Customer loses discrimination claim over Aldi checkout belt allegation
A woman who claimed a supermarket checkout operator spoke rudely to her after she could not lift a tray of water bottles on to a checkout belt has lost a claim that she was discriminated against because of her disability. The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that Aldi Stores (Ireland) Limited has not breached the Equal Status Act 2000 over its dealings with Christine Reilly when she visited one of its branches on September 6, 2024. The customer had claimed the German supermarket group had discriminated against her on grounds of her disability as she had been unable to lift the water bottles out of her trolley at the checkout as she had recently undergone spinal surgery. Ms Reilly claimed the checkout assistant stated that it was company policy for shoppers to place their items on to the checkout belt. The complaint said the assistant had begrudgingly helped her unload her trolley after a long exchange. Lansdowne House, the offices of the Workplace Relations Commission in Ballsbridge, Dublin. (Image: Colin Keegan, Collins Agency, Dublin) Ms Reilly also maintained that the store manager told her during a subsequent conversation that she did not have to shop at the store. Aldi denied the allegations and claimed the opposite had occurred with reasonable accommodation being provided to the complainant by the store assistant lifting the tray of water bottles onto the belt. The WRC heard that Ms Reilly's solicitor had written to Aldi six days after the incident in the store seeking compensation and an apology for the alleged discrimination. In his ruling, WRC adjudication officer, Brian Dalton, said the evidence of the cashier and CCTV footage of the incident wholly corroborated Aldi's account of events that Ms Reilly was reasonably accommodated and that her tray was lifted on to the checkout belt by the till operator. "There is no merit in the claim," said Mr Dalton. He also claimed there was no evidence to support the allegation that the complainant was spoken rudely to by the checkout assistant and the store manager. "What is clear is that within seconds her tray was placed on the belt by the cashier/shop assistant and she was reasonably accommodated," said Mr Dalton. Sign up to the Irish Mirror's Courts and Crime newsletter here and get breaking crime updates and news from the courts direct to your inbox.
RTÉ News
20-06-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Shop cleared of discrimination over €68 payment in coins
A supermarket has been cleared of discriminating against two children who were asked by a cashier if they had "anything larger" when they tried to pay for €68 worth of groceries with 10c and 20c coins. The children's father filed a complaint accusing the accusing the unidentified supermarket of a breach of the Equal Status Act 2000 by refusing service to the children on 22 December 2023 because they were members of the Traveller Community. The claim was ruled "not well founded" by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in a decision published today (FRI), which was anonymised because of the involvement of minors. The tribunal heard that at around 1.30pm on the day of the incident, a cashier had scanned €68 worth of shopping through a checkout for the girl and boy, whose father was outside the premises in a car. The cashier's evidence was that she counted out €26.80 comprising €1 and €2 coins and 20c and 10c pieces. "[It] took some time to count," she told the WRC at a remote hearing last month. When she asked the children for the rest of the sum due, the young girl produced a purse with "a large amount of 10- and 20-cent coins inside", she told the WRC. The cashier then asked the children whether they had "anything larger to pay with". She explained that there was "a large queue building up" at her till. The children said they did not and left to fetch their father, the cashier said. She said he asked her why she was not taking their money, and that she found him "very confrontational". She told the WRC she "made it clear to him that she was not refusing to take his money" and had only asked for notes because it was "a very busy day". There were "a lot more than 50 coins involved". The supermarket owner came to the till and intervened, the tribunal heard. The owner gave evidence that the father showed her that he had banknotes, but told her he "wished to pay in full using coins". The owner then proposed that the father could count out the exact amount owed in coins, or count it out in batches of €5-€10, she said. The father of the children replied: "You are refusing to accept our payment." She said she was "trying to find a solution" and even offered coin bags to count out the loose change – but the father of the children "turned and walked away and left the store mid-conversation". The children's father gave evidence that they told him at the car that they "were not being served" and that he went in to find out why. He told the WRC he "supported what [his wife] had said about the event" in presenting the claim. The family's position, as presented by the children's mother at last month's hearing, was that the children were "refused service at the supermarket because they were members of the Travelling Community". "The children suffered embarrassment in the shop with locals present, and suffered embarrassment with their friends because of the incident". The supermarket's solicitors, Sweeney McGann, submitted that the business offered an apology to the children's mother for the "misunderstanding" in a bid to de-escalate the situation as well as a voucher as a goodwill gesture, which was refused. Adjudicator Peter O'Brien wrote in a decision published today that it was "not prejudicial" for the cashier to ask the children if they had "larger-value coins or notes to complete their purchases". He noted that by law, "no entity other than the Central Bank or such persons as ordered by the Minister [for Finance] shall be obliged to accept more than 50 coins denominated in euro or in cent in a single transaction". He noted that the only person who had given direct evidence to him about the initial incident was the cashier, as anything the children had told their parents was "hearsay". The cashier's evidence that she "never refused to complete the purchase" but simply asked the children whether there was "a more convenient way to pay", he wrote. "The request to pay with larger value notes or coins could easily have applied to a minor who was not a member of the Travelling Community or indeed any adult who presented with large amounts of small coinage on such a busy day," he wrote. He concluded the cashier's actions were reasonable and that she "did not engage in discriminatory or prohibited conduct", and dismissed the complaint.
RTÉ News
16-06-2025
- Health
- RTÉ News
St James's Hospital apologises to trans woman
St James's Hospital has made a public apology to a trans woman over her experience at its emergency department last year after she fell ill following gender reassignment surgery overseas. In a public statement made before the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) this afternoon, the hospital acknowledged there is a "lacuna in the care pathways" for people in her position. Its management has apologised for the "unsatisfactory and upsetting" experience she faced and undertook to meet with a trans advocacy group to discuss its concerns. The patient, Paige Behan, brought a statutory complaint against the hospital's board alleging that she was discriminated against in breach of the Equal Status Act 2000 when she came in seeking emergency treatment on 16 August last year. Her complaint has now been resolved by agreement. The case opened before adjudication officer David James Murphy this afternoon, following a short adjournment for talks between the parties. Ms Behan's barrister, Michael Kinsley BL, appearing instructed by solicitor Seamus Hempenstall of Daly Hempenstall LLP said: "The matter has been resolved and the only action required is that a public statement be read out by the hospital." The statement was then read out by counsel for the board of St James's Hospital, Mairead McKenna SC, who was instructed by Arthur Cox in the matter. "St James's Hospital acknowledges there is a lacuna in the care pathways available for patients who have received gender-affirming surgery abroad," Ms McKenna said. "[The hospital] apologises to Paige Behan for the unsatisfactory and upsetting experience she had during her attendance at the emergency department on 16 August 2024. The hospital deeply regrets the upset caused to Ms Behan," Ms McKenna continued. "St James's Hospital is committed to learning from Paige Behan's experience at the hospital and has agreed to meet with Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) at Paige Behan's request to discuss the concerns regarding the care available to patients who are returning from abroad following gender-affirming surgery," she concluded. The adjudicator, Mr Murphy noted the withdrawal of the equal status complaint pursuant to an agreement between the parties. He praised the "hard work" of the litigants in coming to the agreement, and commended their commitment to "improving the service to everyone's benefit" before closing the hearing.
