Discriminatory recruitment criteria resulted in substantial compensation awarded.

The Complainant who had been deaf since childhood and whose first language was Irish Sign Language (ISL), alleged that he had been indirectly discriminated against on the disability ground when applying for the position of Advisor Deaf/Hard of Hearing. Despite holding a PhD in Deaf Education and being fluent in ISL, he had not been shortlisted because he lacked a formal academic qualification in the language. He maintained that this requirement disproportionately disadvantaged deaf applicants who used ISL as their native language. Following an internal review, the Respondent had accepted that he satisfied the essential criteria but failed to reinstate his application because the recruitment competition had closed. The Complainant