The WRC found that a member of the Traveller community was discriminated against and ordered €5,000 compensation. Adjudication Officer Aideen Collard dated the decision 2 November 2016.
The complainant said she was told to leave a fitness course on 29 August 2013 and that her membership renewal was refused two days later. The respondent, described in the decision as the chairman and nominee of a sporting club and a gym, did not attend the hearing or provide evidence. The adjudicator accepted the complainant and her sister as credible witnesses.
The adjudicator found that members who were not Travellers and retained their membership provided comparators, and that the complainant was excluded because she was a member of the Traveller community. The award reflected the seriousness of the discrimination and the humiliation of being told to leave in public.