Complainant

Respondent

Parties

Anthony  Jones

Health Service Executive Health Business Services, HR

Representatives

The complainant did not attend and was not represented at the hearing

Anna Killilea – HSE Corporate Employee Relations

Act

Complaint Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 77 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998

CA-00033889-001

20/01/2020

The complainant is a registered nurse and submitted he was entitled to work both in Ireland and the UK – he contended that he was prevented from applying for employment with the respondent because of his nationality. He alleged indirect discrimination in the recruitment of UK citizens and submitted that the respondent’s recruitment criteria in relation to Garda vetting and police clearance made specific demands on UK citizens only. The respondent totally refuted the claim of discriminatory treatment. It submitted that the claimant had failed to present a prima facie case of discriminatory treatment and submitted that the claimant did not have locus standi to maintain a complaint of alleged discriminatory treatment under Section 8(1)(a) of the Act.

The claimant failed to attend the hearing to provide evidence in support of his complaint.

The respondent attended the hearing and was available to provide evidence in relation to the complaint.

The complaint was due to be heard on the 15th February 2021. The WRC received email correspondence from the complainant at 17.11 on Friday the 12th February 2021 in which the claimant stated that he would be unable to attend the hearing as he “cannot be spared from the current staff roster such are the challenges posed by Covid 19. I have tried in vain to find cover to replace me …. I made every attempt to make myself available for the current hearing but my appeals to my employer have been lost as we deal with increasing fatalities on the ward”. In the email the claimant asked that his case be considered on the basis of written submissions. The claimant offered his unreserved apologies for not attending and further stated “I understand that the hearing of the 15th will consider locus standi. I have no submissions to make in this regard and understand that the tribunal will rule as it sees fit”.

On the 15th February 2021, the WRC asked the complainant to submit evidence from his employer confirming that he was unable to participate in the hearing because of a requirement to be at work owing to the Covid 19 crisis. He was requested to submit such documentation within 2 weeks of the 15th February 2021. No further communication has been received from the complainant.

I have confirmed that the claimant was notified of the hearing on the 11th January 2021.

As the complainant did not attend the hearing, he failed to present evidence in support of facts from which it may be presumed that there has been discrimination in relation to him. Therefore, the initial standard of proof, as stipulated in section 85A of the Employment Equality Act 1998, was not satisfied and, consequently, the burden of proof could not shift to the respondent to prove the contrary. I find that the complainant was not discriminated against.    

Failure to attend a hearing under the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015