The Labour Court disallowed Catherine Buckley and Patricia Buckley’s appeal over unsuccessful applications for jobs at Mapas Catering Limited T/A McDonalds, finding no discrimination on gender, marital-status or disability grounds.
Fifty people attended interviews for the Athlone positions on 27 May 2003, and seven were selected: four men and three women. The respondent said the advertised general assistant roles involved duties across the restaurant, while the sisters wanted cleaning duties only.
The Court found they were not selected because they were unwilling to take on all the advertised duties, their interview responses and their general unsuitability compared with other candidates. It found no evidence of disability or marital-status discrimination. The Labour Court affirmed the Equality Officer’s decision and signed its determination on 4 August 2005.