The Workplace Relations Commission found Daniel Asari was discriminated against on grounds of race or colour at a Galway service station and ordered XYZ Retail Ltd to pay him €7,500. The decision was dated 13 February 2023.
Asari said he was denied fuel on 31 March 2021 and subjected to racial abuse during an encounter the following morning. The company said the dispute concerned a sandwich request and said the former employee had been reprimanded and later let go.
The adjudication officer found Asari's evidence consistent and credible and concluded the company had not rebutted the presumption of discrimination. She held the company responsible for the former employee's conduct and for its own discriminatory handling of the complaint. She found the first incident involved a refusal of service on race grounds, while the second-night discrimination arose from racist language, not an unjustified refusal of service.
In setting compensation at 50% of the statutory maximum, the officer took account of Asari's active dispute with the employee and his somewhat evasive evidence about the second-night issue. She also directed the company to revise its staff handbook, introduce a customer complaints system and train managers. A duplicate complaint, ADJ-00039461, was withdrawn.