ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00033599
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Suzanne Healy | Arnotts Department Store Arnotts |
Representatives |
| Carole McAllister Corrigan & Corrigan |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 21 Equal Status Act, 2000 | CA-00044427-001 | 31/05/2021 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 13/07/2022
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Patricia Owens
Procedure:
On 31 May 2021 the Complainant referred a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission pursuant to Section 21 of the Equal Status Act, 2000. In accordance with Section 25 of the Equal Status Act, 2000 following the referral of the case to me by the Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission, a hearing was convened on 13 July 2022.
Background:
The Complainant was a customer of the respondent on 31 December 2020 and she complained that she was discriminated against by the respondent in relation to accessing services on that date. she contended that the discrimination was on the prohibited ground of disability.
The Respondent is a retail store who denied the allegations.
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Findings and Conclusions:
Although the Respondent was present on the day of the hearing, along with their representative, the Complainant did not attend.
The finalisation of this decision was delayed due to medical issues arising from Covid 19 and prior to finalisation of the decision the complainant contacted the WRC in March 2023, enquiring as to the status of the case. She subsequently sent correspondence to the Adjudication Officer by email to the WRC on 27 March 2023, stating that she had not received notice of the hearing. In that correspondence she stated that she had been advised by a staff member of the WRC that “an email was sent to me in May 2022 about a date for a hearing.” She further stated that “I never received any such email.”
I subsequently checked the file and was satisfied that she was sent email correspondence on 20 May 2022 which contained the time, date and location for the hearing. I further noted that she had agreed on 5 July 2021 for the WRC to serve notice to her via email at the stated email address.
Given that the complainant had agreed to accept correspondence by email and that the notification of the hearing had been sent to the email address which she had provided on that day, I am satisfied that the Complainant was properly notified of the hearing but did not attend.
In the context of her non-attendance I must conclude that this complaint is not well founded
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Decision:
Section 25 of the Equal Status Acts, 2000 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under section 27 of that Act.
For the reasons outlined above it is my decision that this complaint is not well founded.
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Dated: 08 August 2023
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Patricia Owens
Key Words:
Discrimination on the prohibited ground of disability |