The Labour Court set aside a €3,000 compensation award to Brian McLoughlin after allowing Bus Eireann’s appeal against an age discrimination decision. The determination was signed on 21 November 2005. The Court found that the company’s rule against rehiring former staff who had taken voluntary severance indirectly discriminated against older workers, but was justified by the need to maintain stable industrial relations.
McLoughlin, a former bus driver, had sought part-time or seasonal work after leaving under a voluntary severance scheme. The Equality Officer had found no direct discrimination but found indirect discrimination, ordering compensation, fair consideration of future applications and an equality policy. The Labour Court accepted that 96.5% of those who took voluntary severance were over 50, and that the rule therefore affected older workers disproportionately. It nevertheless found the restriction appropriate and necessary to maintain industrial relations harmony, and set aside the Equality Officer’s decision and award.