The Workplace Relations Commission found that Ocs One Complete Solution Limited did not discriminate against Syed Baqur Hussain when it demoted him from contract manager to security guard and issued a final written warning. Adjudication Officer Máire Mulcahy’s decision was dated 6 August 2025.
Hussain said a white European manager involved in a physical incident with a shoplifting customer was not disciplined, while he and an Asian colleague were. OCS said Hussain punched the customer and failed to follow de-escalation procedures, while the other manager complied. Mulcahy found OCS had rebutted the presumption of discrimination, noting that the comparator had tried to de-escalate and that Irish and non-Irish employees had also faced sanctions.
The officer identified flaws in the disciplinary process, including missing meeting notes and failure to explain that dismissal was possible. A separate harassment complaint, concerning racial abuse allegedly directed at Hussain by the customer, was outside the statutory time limit, so the officer lacked jurisdiction to consider it. She recommended that OCS improve its harassment policy and workplace posters.