Courts / Longford / Report

Salesman wins claim over office 'culture' of derogatory language about Travellers

Date
2025-09-08

Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Primary locality
Longford

Summary

Raymond Nevin, a salesman from the Travelling Community, secured €7,500 in compensation from the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) for workplace discrimination at CPF (Profiles) Ltd in Longford. Adjudicator Anne McElduff found that the company maintained a "culture and tolerance" of derogatory terminology towards Travellers. Mr Nevin alleged that during his two-and-a-half-week employment in June 2024, he overheard the managing director use terms such as "pikeys" and "tinkers" in phone calls and make remarks about a Traveller customer. The MD, who was not named in the decision, denied discrimination but admitted he "may" have used the word "pikey" on one occasion, while stating he did not recall the other alleged remarks. The adjudicator also found that the employer had "probed" Mr Nevin's background during his May 2024 interview by asking if he was related to the "Taxi Nevins," a local settled family, to determine his Traveller status. While the MD claimed these questions were to assess worker reliability, the WRC determined his community membership was a consideration in the hiring process. The award, equivalent to nearly 19 weeks' wages, was made under the Employment Equality Act 1998. A separate complaint under the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 was dismissed because Mr Nevin had not sought a statement of his hourly earnings as required by legislation.