Equality bites
Equality legislation is one of the most important areas of the law to be in tune with when running a business. Be well versed in your staff's rights, advises John Hogan.
Print14 April 2010
Since the introduction of the Equal Status Act in 2000 and 2004 and the Employment (Equality) Acts in 1998 and 2004 we have all become more aware of our obligations to treat all categories of customer and employees equally. Whilst the legislation took a while to bed in, with some high profile cases in relation to travellers’ rights hitting the newspapers, there is now a constant stream of claims being lodged by employees for unfair treatment.
As we all know, there are a famous “Nine grounds” for unfair treatment which are set out in the legislation. They are:
:: Gender (includes men and women and transgender)
:: Marital status (includes single, married, separated, divorced or widowed)
:: Family status (includes responsibility as a parent, or in loco parentis in relation to a person who is under eighteen years of age, or as a parent or primary resident carer)
:: Sexual orientation (includes heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual orientation)
:: Religious belief
:: Age
:: Race (includes race, colour, nationality, or ethnic or national origins)
:: Disability (includes the total or partial absence of a person’s bodily or mental functions, including the absence of a part of the body)
:: Membership of the Travelling community
The acts prevent direct or indirect discrimination taking place on any of the nine grounds. Over the last few months, retailers have been hit with some interesting and challenging cases – read on and beware!
Eircom – gender – equal pay –cost €55,000 plus four years back pay
In this case Eircom were hit with a substantial bill because they victimised a staff member after she complained about unequal pay. She was awarded €55,000 for victimisation and then given back pay for four years.
Mrs Z – v – A chain store – disability – cost €8,000
Mrs Z was an epileptic working on the tills. She asked to be moved as she feared the flashing lights in the till area could trigger a seizure. The store declined and she went on sick leave. She was willing to swap roles with other staff members but the owners refused to listen. She resigned and was awarded €8,000 in compensation.
The head in the sand – cost €10,000
In a recent case by a security guard who alleged discriminatory treatment based on his race, the employer did not even bother to show up and defend the case. With no opposition to fight, the employee was awarded a cool €10,000 without even having to prove the case. A lesson learnt!
Lost in translation?
Do you have a substantial number of non-English speaking staff? Think about warehouses, drivers, back office, food processing, waste management? If you have numbers of non-English speaking workers you should get your handbook translated. In 2008 the Equality Tribunal found that where there were a large number of foreign speaking staff, an employer should ensure that their staff policies are translated so that they can be understood by everyone. Practical advice – check the majority of your staff are English speaking. If not get your handbook translated for the one major national language. You can also insist that when hiring staff they have basic English and accept English as the working language of the business.
Be careful on maternity!
Expectant mothers are a super protected class of employee. Did you know that you cannot make an employee redundant when she is on maternity leave? Did you know that you must provide paid leave for ante-natal visits? Always be careful when dealing with maternity situations as they can be legally and emotionally fraught. If in doubt, take some advice.
How do you protect yourself?
One common thread to all of these cases is common sense. If the employer (as most employers do) has an equality policy, you should refer to it and follow it! Do not try to be clever about dressing up discrimination as a performance issue. The Equality Tribunal will make you squirm when it comes to justifying discriminatory activity. The evidence is public and placed on the website – it can be highly embarrassing for an organisation and a HR department.
Practical steps:
1 Review your equality policy. If you don’t have one, get one. If it is in English and you have a number of foreign staff, get it translated.
2 Go through it with the store managers
3 Make sure there are no problem cases in any stores. If there are “delicate” situations, deal with them in an organised way – don’t wait for the claim!
4 Remember, length of service or part time working is irrelevant – anyone can claim and the awards and embarrassment factor can be substantial.
At the end of the day, if you have concerns, check out the Equality Authority website – www.equality.ie or call them with any issues that might concern you. Proper preparation and respect for policies will keep you right. Employment Equality concerns should not be an excuse for getting lawyers involved. The information is there for employers to access.
© LEMAN Solicitors 2010
John Hogan is a partner with LEMAN solicitors and advises a large number of retail clients on employment law and disputes. He can be contacted at 01-6393000 or jhogan@lemansolicitors.
com. Further information on the firm can be found at www.lemansolicitors.com
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