Labour Court rejects sisters’ discrimination appeal over training course

The Labour Court disallowed Patricia Buckley and Catherine Buckley’s appeal over places on a catering course run by Tullamore & District Youth Endeavour Limited. It found no discrimination on gender, marital-status, age or disability grounds and affirmed the Equality Officer’s decision. The respondent argued that the Court lacked jurisdiction because the course was not employment. The Court rejected that objection, finding the course was vocational training. It accepted that prior participation in similar courses was the selection criterion and found the complainants had not established discrimination. The Court signed its determination on 4 August 2005.