WRC awarded over €16,000 to general operative as Employer breached his statutory entitlements

In this Case, the Complainant made a number of allegations against his Employer alleging non-compliance by the Respondent under the Employment Equality Acts and the Terms of Employment (Information) Act.

A major feature of the decision was the finding that a single online message referring to the Complainant as ‘Roma Gypsie’ constituted harassment on the ground of race. In finding that the Complainant had suffered harassment, the Adjudicator focused on the connection between the parties through their employment, the discriminatory content of the message, the effect on the Employee rather than the intention of the sender, and the Employer’s inadequate response once aware of the issue.

Under the Employment Equality Acts, an Employer may avoid liability for harassment by demonstrating that it took reasonably practicable steps to prevent the inappropriate conduct and to respond appropriately once notified. The Respondent was exposed because there was little evidence of anti-harassment policies, complaints procedures, documented investigations, disciplinary responses, or proactive management intervention.

A critical lesson from this case is that treating inappropriate conduct as ‘workplace banter’ is fraught with legal risk and Organisations that have not taken reasonable steps to prevent harassment will find it difficult to defend their position.

The Complainant’s successful equal pay claim is also notable in light of the forthcoming transposition of the EU Pay Transparency Directive into Irish law. The risk of equal pay claims based on the gender ground is likely to increase significantly when Employees gain greater access to pay information under the new pay transparency framework.

To learn more about partnering with Adare Trusted People Partners’ Leading HR & Employment Law Experts, please contact Neil McCormack at nmccormack@adarehrm.ie today.