Courts / Dublin / Report

Iceland ordered to pay €12k for traveller discrimination

Date
2022-10-12

Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

In a decision by the Workplace Relations Commission, Iceland Foods Ireland Ltd was ordered to pay €12,000 in compensation to four Traveller women who claimed they were told to leave an Iceland supermarket in Finglas, Dublin 11, without explanation two years earlier. The women—Laura McDonnell, Megan McDonnell and two young girls—filed complaints under the Equal Status Act, alleging discrimination by an assistant manager and a security guard. The commission found that the assistant manager dismissed a year and a half earlier and the guard had been involved in a traffic accident, but these facts were unrelated to the case. The adjudicating officer, Brian Dalton, concluded that the staff had engaged in prohibited conduct, awarding each complainant €3,000 for emotional upset and embarrassment. The decision was based on credible evidence, CCTV footage and the complainants' testimony that they were identified as Travellers and treated differently from other customers.