Maria Casey and Karl Woods win disability discrimination complaints over concert seating

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Maria Casey and Karl Woods each won a disability discrimination complaint against concert promoter Lantern Events Limited after their request for seating was not accommodated. The Workplace Relations Commission directed the company to pay each of them €3,000.

The couple wanted to attend a concert on 27 October 2021. Casey uses crutches and Woods cannot stand for long periods. They requested seating but were unable to attend after their request was not accommodated.

Casey said she emailed the promoter on 16 September 2021 about their need to sit down and received no reply. She said she phoned the company and, while the line was open, heard a colleague of the woman who answered say “No” when asked whether she could be facilitated. A further email on 1 October also went unanswered.

Casey said the respondent repeatedly called her a “liability”. The company’s principal said he believed both members of the couple used crutches and that allowing them to use booths reached by three steps presented an insurance issue. He said his use of the word referred to insurance and that he would never intentionally discriminate.

Casey said only she used crutches and that Woods could have helped her on the steps. She also said carers could have attended with them, but those options were not discussed.

Following a hearing on 1 September 2022, adjudication officer Andrew Heavey found that the couple were treated less favourably because of their disabilities and had not been given reasonable accommodation. He accepted that discrimination might not have been the company’s intention and noted the good faith of both parties. He said a solution could seemingly have been found, as the respondent had accepted at the hearing.

In separate decisions dated 3 January 2023, Mr Heavey found both complaints well founded and directed the company to pay €3,000 to each complainant.