The Labour Court upheld a finding that the Health Service Executive did not discriminate against Jerry Selvaseelan on race grounds in a competition for a temporary occupational therapy manager post. The determination was dated 20 June 2019.
Selvaseelan argued that interviewers restricted him to examples from his HSE work and that the process was unfair. He also cited the appointment of a comparator without competition and the absence of Indian-ethnicity occupational therapy managers. The HSE said the comparator’s earlier appointment followed different practices and that the 2015 competition assessed candidates against the post’s requirements.
The Court found that the statistics and comparator evidence did not establish discrimination. It also concluded that the alleged interview and marking defects did not show that race affected the result. The interview board had found that Selvaseelan fell short in three competency areas.