The Workplace Relations Commission found that Aidan Barr’s race discrimination complaint against Tesco Ireland Limited trading as Tesco Superstore was not well founded. The decision, dated 27 June 2022, concerned his rejected application for a Dotcom Personal Shopper job advertised in Bailieboro.
Barr said he was excluded because he was Irish after an online application asked for UK details and an automated reply rejected him. Tesco said the job was UK-based and had been advertised in Bailieboro by mistake; UK residency was required.
The adjudication officer accepted that the erroneous advert misled Barr and that the algorithm rejected his application because he lacked UK details. But the job was never intended to be based in Ireland, so the officer found Barr had not shown that his exclusion was because of his nationality. The complaint failed on its merits.
The officer also urged Tesco to scrutinise the data used in automated recruitment responses, warning that inaccurate information could expose the company to more employment rights complaints.