Summary of Equality Officer's Decision No DEC-E2007-037
Mr Michael Scanlon
vs
Rescon
Headnotes
Employment Equality Acts, 1998-2004, section 6 - gender, age, interview, experience, burden of proof.
Background
The complainant who is male and aged 54 at the time, was interviewed for a position of Senior Bookeeper with the respondent but was unsuccessful. A younger female candidate was appointed. The complainant believes that he was well qualified for the position and that the reason why he was unsuccessful was because of his age and gender. The respondent rejected the allegation of discrimination on the grounds of gender and age and argued that the complainant had failed to adduce any evidence of discriminatory treatment as alleged. The respondent provided a breakdown of the age and gender profile of candidates called to final interview which showed that some younger candidates and some female candidates were not called to a final interview. The complainant produced an e-mail from the respondent in which he was told that he was unsuccessful in his application and that he was considered 'too experienced' for the job.
Decision
The Equality Officer found that when the complainant was informed that he was 'too experienced' for the job an inference of discriminatory treatment was created that the complainant was considered too old for the job and that it was for the respondent to prove the contrary. However having considered all of the evidence presented, the Equality Officer concluded on the balance of probabilities that the respondent had objective reasons unconnected with the complainant's age or gender, for its decision to appoint a younger female candidate.