Background

The Respondent provides a service to the public at a retail premises in Galway supplying fuel for vehicles with a shop. The Complainant submitted that he was denied service at the Respondent’s premises on two occasions in March/April 2021 and that on the second occasion he was subjected to racial abuse. The employee at the centre of the allegations is no longer an employee of the Respondent.

The Complainant is a taxi driver who usually works in Galway City. It was a frequent occurrence for him to attend at the Respondent’s service station. On 31st March 2021, he went to the service station to obtain fuel for his vehicle. The normal practice was when he went to the pump, the employee at the till would then open the pump so that he could obtain fuel. On that occasion when he went to the pump there was a man at the hatch whom he did not know and when the Complainant put in the nozzle he waited; the Complainant submitted that the employee was looking at him but did not open the tap so that he could obtain fuel. He waited about 30 minutes and felt embarrassed because others who came into the shop were served and obtained fuel whereas he had to obtain fuel from another taxi driver.

The Complainant stated he returned the following day to make a complaint about what had happened. He spoke to an employee who said he was going to talk to the main manager and took his telephone number but nobody called him about the matter. In the early hours of the following morning, he went back again and was denied service by the same employee. The Complainant described the employee as becoming angry, saying that he would meet him in court. The Complainant submitted that the employee started name calling using the “N” word, a racial slur. The Complainant clarified that it was on the second occasion that he was subjected to racial slurs about race, colour, identity.

The Complainant gave evidence that he felt humiliated and felt as if he would have been treated differently had he been a native Irish customer. The Respondent stated that the Complainant was a valued customer of the business.  The Respondent stated that the matter was investigated, and the employee in question was interviewed and reprimanded by way of a warning and at the end of his probation he was let go in June 2021.

The Adjudication Officer found that the behaviours described by the Complainant in terms of the racist language amounted to discrimination on grounds of race.  The Adjudication Officer was satisfied that the Complainant reached the threshold of the burden of proof required to support his complaint of discrimination on grounds of race.

The Adjudication Officer further ordered that the Respondent arrange for training and familiarisation with the Equal Status Act for all managers and supervisors and on the handling of complaints.

Outcome

The Respondent was ordered to pay the Complainant the sum of €7,500 compensation for the discriminatory treatment of the Complainant on grounds of race and or colour.

Practical Guidance for Employers

There is an obligation on the Complainant to establish the facts necessary to discharge the onus regarding the burden of proof that discrimination has occurred. The Employer must then be able to discharge the onus of proof required to demonstrate that the prohibited conduct did not occur.  Employers should ensure that they have staff policies in place to cover discrimination and provide training to management and supervisors who will then be equipped to deal with a complaint, should one arise.

The full case is here:
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2023/february/adj-00039460.html