SUMMARY[1]
DECISION NO: DEC - E/2008/008
Byrne v. Association of Irish Racecourses
The Employment Equality Acts 1998 and 2004: sections 6, 8 and 74 - gender - direct discrimination - victimisation
1. Background
The complainant submitted that she was casually employed by the respondent as a security system operator on various racecourses around the country. She submits that when another casual employee, who was male, was taken on by the respondent, she was not provided with casual work any longer and that this amounts to discrimination in access to employment, or alternatively, discriminatory dismissal, on grounds of gender. The respondent disputed that the complainant is an employee, and therefore that the Tribunal has no jurisdiction in this matter. In the course of the hearing, the issue of possible victimisation of the complainant arose, and both parties were asked to make additional submissions to the Tribunal on the matter.
2. Conclusions
The Equality Officer found that the complainant was an employee of the respondent’s for the purposes of the Acts and that he therefore had jurisdiction to investigate. On the substantive complaint, he found that the work allocation patterns of the respondent were too arbitrary to raise an inference of gender discrimination in the allocation of work. However, he found that the fact that the complainant had not received work from the respondent for a lengthy period of time, after she made a complaint to the Tribunal, raised an inference of victimisation that was not rebutted by the respondent.
3. Decision
The Equality Officer found that the complainant failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination on the gender ground in terms of section 6(2)(a) of the Employment Equality Acts 1998 and 2004. The Equality Officer found that the respondent victimised the complainant contrary to S. 74 of the Acts by not giving her work after she lodged a complaint with the Tribunal, and awarded €500 in compensation.
4. Cases cited
Henry Denny & Sons (Ireland) Ltd v. The Minister for Social Welfare[1998 1 IR 34]
Stephenson v. Delphi Diesel Systems 2003 ICR 471
Theresa Nevin v. The Plaza Hotel[DEC-E2001-033]
Diageo Global Supply v. Mary Rooney[PTW/03/7]
Siobhan Long v. Powers Supermarkets Ltd t/a Quinnsworth Labour Court decision DEE901
Siobhan Long v. The Labour Court, Mairead Blackhall, and Powers Supermarkets Ltd t/a Quinnsworth, 1990 No 58 Judicial Review, Johnson J, High Court, 25 May 1990
The State (Irish Pharmaceutical Union) v. Employment Appeals Tribunal [1987 ILRM 36]
[1]This summary is provided for convenience only and is not part of the Decision for legal purposes.