The Workplace Relations Commission awarded Oskar Hangurbadzo €7,500 after finding that Ladbroke (Ireland) Limited discriminated against him by refusing to take his bet at a betting shop. The decision was dated 25 July 2022.
Hangurbadzo said he went to the shop to play roulette and was refused service while two other customers were served. He said a staff member made a remark about Roma people making a mess. The manager said she had asked him not to dirty the roulette area as the shop was closing, and refused his bet after his behaviour. She denied knowing that he was Roma.
The adjudication officer found that the manager’s account of aggression was not supported by the CCTV footage. The other customers’ access to service while Hangurbadzo was refused supported an inference of discrimination, which the company did not rebut. The officer found that the refusal rested on a stereotype associating Roma people with messiness. He also directed that Hangurbadzo’s notification be treated as timely, citing reasonable cause related to the onset of the pandemic and staff working from home. The WRC found prohibited conduct and ordered €7,500 redress.