This case was brought by the Complainant after the Respondent decided to withdraw the part-time permanent contract of employment that was offered to him upon realising he was 65 years old.

The Complainant applied for the position of a minibus driver with the Respondent in May 2017. The essential criteria for the role involved the applicant holding the correct driver permit as well as having “an awareness of and an interest in the needs of people with an intellectual and physical disability”. The advertisement for the position within the Respondent company affirmed that it was pleased to be an equal opportunity workplace. As part of the recruitment process the Complainant was obliged to submit his CV, driving license and his driving qualification card.  All three documents contained his date of birth. The Complainant was successful in his application and accepted the offer for the position in June 2017. The Respondent then received the Complainant’s Garda Vetting form and only then realised his age. Subsequently, he was advised that the offer had to be revoked as the Respondent’s policy does not permit people to work after 65 years.

The Complainant submitted that he had legitimate expectations to act in the role offered, on the terms and conditions as set out by the Respondent to him. It was also submitted that there was no reference to a retirement age in any documentation provided to him by the Respondent and therefore he was perfectly entitled to have a legitimate expectation of remaining in employment until the age of 70 which was the industry norm.

The Respondent argued that they provided a fair and transparent recruitment process which was specifically designed to ensure no discrimination took place. Their justification for setting a retirement age was for health and safety reasons. The Respondent stated that the service it provides is for intellectually disabled adults and children and sometimes the service users are very vulnerable and their behaviour can be very challenging and they have a tendency to lash out, hence the health and safety of employees was paramount.

The court held that an act of discrimination took place in relation to the Complainant’s application. It was noted that they were not provided with any evidence which would suggest that the driver’s ability to cope in the sometimes challenging situations could potentially be impacted by age. Accordingly, the Complainant was awarded €2,500 in compensation.
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2019/may/adj-00011207.html