A Traveller supervisor employed at a Homesavers store, who was allegedly asked by a manager to follow his aunt and young cousin around the store, has been awarded €13,000 compensation in a Traveller discrimination case.
At the Workplace Relations Commission, Adjudicator Catherine Byrne has ordered Homesavers firm, Ballymaley Stores Ltd to pay €13,000 compensation to Mark O’Connor after finding that he was discriminated against on the grounds of being a Traveller when dismissed after only four weeks in the job.
Mr O’Connor told the WRC hearing that he feels that he was punished when it became known that he was a Traveller and then he was let go.
Mr O’Connor joined the Homesavers Bunclody store in Co Wexford on November 1, 2021 on a wage of €11.20 per hour and was dismissed on November 29 after being told that he failed his probation.
During 2021, Ballymaley Stores Ltd recorded revenues of €17.7m.
In her findings, Catherine Byrne said that she found Mr O’Connor “to be a credible witness”.
“He described what occurred during the four weeks of his employment without embellishment or emotion and his statement on his complaint form that ‘I am sick of the way we are treated,’ concurs with his experience of being dismissed,” she said.
Ms Byrne said that contrary to a submission by Ballymaley Stores Ltd company solicitor, Anthony Nagle, that Mr O’Connor was sensitive to discrimination, “I found the complainant to be a stoic, pragmatic individual. He tolerated very poor treatment in the first three weeks of his employment, until he was asked to keep an eye on his aunt, when he decided that this was unacceptable”.
Ms Byrne said that it is apparent that Mr O’Connor’s objective “was to hold onto his job, despite the disrespectful attitude of certain managers to members of his community”.
“It seems to me that he presented the respondent with a challenge, to live up to its policy not to discriminate against employees who are members of the Traveller Community and that they resiled from that challenge,” he said.
Ms Byrne also found that the employer “submitted no evidence that another employee on probation was treated in the same manner as the complainant by being dismissed with no explanation after four weeks”.
“I am satisfied that, as a member of the Traveller Community, the complainant has shown that, when he was dismissed, he was treated less favourably than others employed by the respondent,” she said.
In his evidence, Mr O’Connor – who represented himself – said that he said that he “turned a blind eye” when an area manager – who has since left the company – told him to leave wooden pallets to the side because “the knackers go mad for them.”
When he heard this comment, he said that he was “surprised, but not surprised.” He said that he felt that if he revealed his identity as a Traveller, he would lose his job.
He said that on another occasion, three lads came into the store with navy work jackets. One was his cousin, and the two others were his grandad’s brother and his son. He was instructed by the manager to “follow the three lads with the navy jackets”.
The next day, Mr O’Connor alleged that the next day, he said that he was told to follow a “knacker woman with a child.”
The child was wearing slippers that were sold in the shop. Mr O’Connor said that he told the manager that the woman was his aunt and the child was his cousin and that he was not following Travellers around the shop.
He said that the manager asked him if he was related to “every knacker in the town,” to which he said that he replied, “most of them, yeah.”
Mr O’Connor said that the reference to members of the Traveller Community as “knackers” was like a “punch in the gut.” He said that Traveller children were always followed in the shop, whereas settled children from after school study groups were not followed.
Mr O’Connor further alleged at the hearing that a woman who was well known in the town as a shop-lifter walked out of the store with a Christmas tree.
He said that when he told the manager that she should be followed, he was told “don’t worry about her, worry about the knackers.”
Mr Nagle said that the manager alleged to have made the derogatory comments on Travellers concerning the pallets no longer works for the company but provided an email in which the manager denied that he made the remarks.
Mr Nagle also stated that it is denied that Mr O’Connor was instructed to follow Travellers around the store.
Store Manager Leah Sullivan told the WRC hearing that she did not ask the complainant to follow people in the store and she was not aware that his relations were in the store.
Mr Nagle asked Ms Sullivan about Mr O’Connor’s evidence that she asked him if he was related to “every knacker in the town.” Ms Sullivan said that she had no issue with the complainant’s relations.
Ms Sullivan said that Mr O’Connor was dismissed because of his lack of communication with her, because he was not leading or driving the team, for the unauthorised use of his mobile phone and because he did not complete his duties.
Ms Sullivan said that she was never aware that Mr O’Connor was a member of the Traveller Community.
She said that she became aware in late 2024, when she was informed that he had submitted a complaint to the WRC.
Ms Sullivan said that she is upset about the allegations made by Mr O’Connor and she said that he was not treated differently to anyone else.
In her findings, Ms Byrne commented: “As someone on an hourly rate of €11.20, it seems to me that the requirement to ‘manage and drive the team’ is outside the remit of that person’s job.”
Ms Byrne also stated that she found it “difficult to accept that Ms Sullivan did not know that the complainant is a Traveller and I find it entirely credible that the complainant informed her of this fact when he was asked to keep an eye on his aunt who came into the store with her child”.
As part of her order, Ms Byrne has directed the Homesavers firm to consult with an advocacy body for the Traveller Community and to provide training for managers regarding the promotion of dignity and respect in the workplace.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
