In 1993, the Labour Court found that a shop assistant had been discriminated against when she was selected for redundancy before a male colleague with less service. It ordered the employer to pay her £1,000. The decision was signed on 30 August 1993.
The worker was employed at a retail shop trading as a butcher and delicatessen. The employer said she was temporary and less interested in the job, while her colleague was a trainee butcher hired for long-term work. The Court found that lifting was a small part of the work and butchering required no greater skill than normally expected of men and women in similar shops. It also noted that the employer said he would not offer butchering training to a woman. The Court concluded that the workers’ circumstances were not materially different and the worker had suffered discrimination under section 3(4) of the Employment Equality Act, 1977.