The Workplace Relations Commission found that a non-binary employee was not discriminated against by a service station after raising concerns about the use of pronouns. The decision was dated 10 December 2024.
The employee said colleagues repeatedly used incorrect pronouns, shared personal information and made inappropriate comments. The service station said managers addressed concerns about pronouns through meetings and warnings, but the employee had not raised the harassment allegations during employment.
The adjudication officer found that the employee had established facts from which discrimination could be presumed in relation to misgendering. However, managers had referred a colleague to disciplinary procedures and warned that continued misgendering could lead to dismissal, which the officer found provided a defence under the Employment Equality Act. The officer also found that the employer had not been put on notice of the harassment and sexual harassment allegations, and that the employee had accessed the grievance procedure before resigning but did not use it.