The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has ruled that the dismissal of a 64 year old woman amounted to discrimination on the grounds of age and disability.
The woman worked as a part-time cleaner in a residential disability service. She was informed in writing that she was being dismissed with immediate effect due to her age and her health conditions. It is illegal to discriminate on the grounds of age and disability under the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015.
Adjudication Officer Niamh O Carroll Kelly noted that discrimination can be conscious or sub-conscious and that the burden of proof is on the complainant to establish that discrimination has occurred. She held that regardless of the numerous reasons for terminating the woman’s contract put forward by the employer at the hearing, “the termination letter clearly and unambiguously states the woman was let go because of her health and her age”. There was no evidence that the woman’s age or health impacted her ability to work. The WRC ruled that the dismissal was discriminatory and that the employer had not shown that there was any objective justification for the discrimination. The woman was awarded €10,000.
The woman who, as a result of her dismissal, had no income, no social welfare supports and very little English was represented by the Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC). Sinead Lucey, FLAC’s Managing Solicitor, stated “ultimately her employer engaged in no process whatsoever around this woman’s employment or dismissal. She had no contract of employment, was given no training and was ultimately dismissed due to her health conditions and her age with immediate effect, although there was no evidence that either her health or her age ever impacted on her ability to work”.
According to FLAC Chief Executive, Eilis Barry, “this case highlights the need for legal information and advocacy in this area. Complaints before the WRC are excluded from the civil legal aid system, irrespective of the capacity of the complainant to represent themselves. As a result, too few employment equality cases ever see the light of day when the complainant cannot afford representation”.
Click here for the full decision of the WRC.