An Irish man has been awarded €5,000 by the Workplace Relations Commission on the grounds of suffering racial discrimination by his employer, a hotel in Kerry.
Thomas O'Reilly who worked as a night porter at the Derrynane Hotel, Caherdaniel, was told that because of necessary staff reductions, no work was available for him, and that he would be contacted when business improved.
Mr O’Reilly took complaints of discrimination and unfair dismissal against the company Green Cliff Investments Ltd to the Workplace Relations Commission.
Mr O’Reilly had been employed at the Derrynane Hotel from 15 June 2022 until 19 January 2025 as a night porter, but was never provided with a written contract.
He said at a meeting on 12 January 2025, the hotel manager Mr McCormack told him staff reductions were needed, due to declining occupancy in the hotel, because of reduced numbers in state-provided Ukrainian accommodation.
Mr O’Reilly said he was told there was no definite timeframe to this and he would be contacted when business improved.
He claims this was misleading as his duties continued to be carried out by two Ukrainian members of staff, whom he alleged were employed on lower wages.
Mr O’Reilly said he was repeatedly told no work was available, and he believed his employment had been effectively terminated without formal redundancy.
He submitted this amounted to unfair dismissal and discrimination on the grounds of race, as he was replaced rather than made redundant, and preference was given to Ukrainian workers over him as an Irish employee.
General Manager of the hotel, Martin McCormack, represented the company in the proceedings.
He said Mr O’Reilly was engaged on short-term, three-month contracts which could be terminated on short notice, and the decision to place him on layoff arose from reduced demand in the hotel rather than any intention to unfairly terminate his employment.
Mr McCormack strongly denied the allegation of racial discrimination, describing it as serious and unfounded.
Mr McCormack claimed these individuals worked full time roles and performed porter duties additionally, but could not provide documentary evidence such as rosters or contracts to prove this.
The commission accepted that the hotel had experienced reduced business, but that did not create a redundancy situation.
The WRC also found Mr O’Reilly was treated less favourably on the grounds of race, as the respondent failed to rebut the inference of discrimination.
Green Cliff Investments Limited were ordered to pay €5,000 for racial discrimination, and a further €2,340 for unfair dismissal and other breaches of employment legislation.
