The Labour Court found that the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists discriminated against Venera Ilieva and Tsvetko Mitov and awarded €10,000 compensation. Its determination was signed on 22 December 2005.
The Society had appealed an Equality Tribunal finding that it victimised the two applicants, while Ilieva and Mitov cross-appealed the dismissal of their race discrimination claims. The Society withdrew its appeal at the hearing, leaving the cross-appeal for the Court to decide. The victimisation finding therefore remained in place, and the Court considered whether the Society had discriminated in processing the membership applications.
The Court accepted that the applicants did not initially have the qualifications the Society required. But applicants from EU member states who lacked a qualification in a particular subject could take an adaptation period; non-EU applicants were not offered that option. The Society later offered Ilieva and Mitov a course, but the Court found it had discriminated by rejecting their applications without first offering them an adaptation period. It awarded €10,000 for the effects of the discrimination.