The Workplace Relations Commission found that Limerick Greenway Bike Hire Limited did not discriminate against Mark Hegarty on family-status grounds after refusing to hire his family a bike and trailer. The decision was dated 10 July 2023.
The family wanted to hire a bike and trailer for their two children, aged two and seven months. Hegarty said his wife, Yun, could walk alongside the bike with the baby in a buggy, or walk in the opposite direction. Both suggestions were refused. The business said it had safety concerns about a child under one using the trailer and had to follow the equipment specifications.
The adjudication officer accepted that the employee’s decision was primarily based on health and safety concerns and the infant’s welfare. The officer said a customer without a child was not an appropriate comparison because the same safety concerns would not arise. The family-status complaint was found not well founded. A separate age-discrimination complaint was withdrawn.