A 67-YEAR-OLD man has been awarded €25,000 for discrimination on age grounds following his dismissal by a plant hire company where he had worked for more than 35 years driving JCBs and trucks.
William Gardiner claimed that when he turned 66 and was given the State pension he asked if he could continue working. His employer, Kevin Munelly Plant Ltd, told him he could continue working until he was 72.
However, he said in March 2008 he was told that business was bad and he would have to be laid off temporarily. The younger men had to pay their mortgages, his employer said. He was also told the insurer would not cover him to drive the machines and trucks any more as he was too old.
Following a letter from the complainant’s lawyer, he was re-engaged for a few months, but then told the business was being sold and he was to be laid off again. There was no evidence of a transfer of undertakings.
The company did not respond to the claim and the equality officer found a prima facie case of discrimination on age grounds had been established. It awarded Mr Gardiner €25,000, equivalent to about 20 months’ salary.
Meanwhile, a quarrying firm has been ordered to pay €10,000 and €5,000 to two eastern European workers for harassment and victimisation on the grounds of race. Five other east European workers failed in their claims against the firm. The complaints were made by the seven to the Equality Tribunal against Manor Stone Quarries Limited. Eduard Laes from Estonia came to Ireland in 2003 and started working with the firm shortly afterwards, operating a guillotine for cutting stone.
He claimed there were no Irish doing the same job, he received no proper contract of employment and that his wages were cut without reason. He said he was dismissed on July 17th, 2009, when he lodged a claim against the company for discrimination.
Jaroslaw Zalzenski, who also operated a guillotine cutting stone, claimed he was paid in accordance with the number of pallets of stone cut and this rate was reduced without his consent. He claimed he was often referred to by the owner as a “f****n immigrant” and a “Polish b*****d”. He also said that after he lodged the discrimination claim he was told to drop it or he would be let go.
In a written submission, the company said it had been severely affected by the downturn and was forced to cut pay. It said the site was regularly visited by the Health and Safety Authority to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations, and that documentation on health and safety was available on site.
The equality officer found the company liable by not taking reasonable and practicable steps to prevent the harassment on race grounds of Mr Zalzenski and that it had victimised Mr Laes by dismissing him.