Amit Chawla v Freenow Ireland Limited
Decision Number: ADJ-00051191 Legal Body: Workplace Relations Commission
Published on: 16/04/2026
Issues Covered:
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Duncan Inverarity Former Partner & Head of Employment Law, A&L Goodbody LLP
Duncan Inverarity Former Partner & Head of Employment Law, A&L Goodbody LLP
Duncan inverarity 100x100

Duncan Inverarity is a former a partner and Head of A&L Goodbody's Employment Law group and practiced exclusively in the area of employment law and industrial relations in multiple jurisdictions. Duncan advised public and private sector employers on both contentious and non-contentious matters. He advised Board rooms across Ireland and abroad on strategic and complex employment and industrial relations matters. Duncan also specialised in crisis management for clients and advised on some of the most high profile corporate issues in Ireland. Duncan regularly appeared for clients in the Workplace Relations Commission, the Circuit Court, the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Duncan also acted for partnerships in mediated settlements and in proceedings in the High Court.

Complainant:
Amit Chawla
Respondent:
Freenow Ireland Limited
Summary

The case considered whether a platform provider could be held liable for alleged discriminatory conduct by a self-employed driver, with the decision turning on the absence of control and the limits of vicarious liability.

Background

The Complainant brought a complaint to the WRC under the Equal Status Act 2000, alleging discrimination by a taxi driver on grounds of race, gender, age, disability, and sexual orientation.

The alleged incident occurred when a service user, using the Freenow technology platform, booked a taxi and when the driver arrived, he allegedly refused service, spat at him, and made discriminatory remarks.

Freenow argued it was not the correct respondent as it doesn't provide taxi services directly and as such had no responsibility for

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Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 16/04/2026
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