ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00035953

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Anonymised Parties	A Parent	A School

Representatives

Paul McDonald AJP McDonald Solicitors

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-00047179-001	09/11/2021

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 12/10/2022

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Breiffni O'Neill

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 25 of the Equal Status Act, 2000, following the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint.

The Complainant did not attend to give evidence on the day of the hearing. The Respondent’s witnesses namely the Principal, the Acting Principal and the Chair of the Board of Management were in attendance on the day.

Given the failure of the Complainant to attend to give evidence, I decided to anonymise the names of the parties, following a request from the Respondent that I do so.

Background:

The Complainant in his complaint form stated that the Respondent discriminated against him by treating him less favourably than his child’s mother.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The Complainant did not attend to give evidence on the day of the hearing.

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

As there was no evidence presented by the Complainant on the day of the hearing, the Respondent’s witnesses did not give any evidence.

Findings and Conclusions:

In the absence of any evidence having been presented by the Complainant on the day of the hearing, I must find that the Respondent did not engage in prohibited conduct.

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.

I find that the Respondent did not engage in prohibited conduct for the reasons set out above.

Dated: 13th February 2023

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Breiffni O'Neill

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