Case Number: EDA213. Labour Court

• Judgment Date: 01 February 2021
• Year: 2021
• Docket Number: EDA213
• Court: Labour Court (Ireland)

FULL RECOMMENDATION; ADE/18/80; ADJ-00009268 CA-00012097-001/002 DETERMINATION NO. EDA213 ; SECTION 83 (1), EMPLOYMENT EQUALITY ACTS, 1998 TO 2015 ; PARTIES : IARNROD EIREANN; - AND -; JOHN COYLE; (REPRESENTED BY GILVARRY & ASSOCIATES) ; DIVISION : Chairman: Mr Geraghty Employer Member: Ms Connolly Worker Member: Ms Treacy ; SUBJECT : 1. Appeal of Adjudication Officer Decision No(S) ADJ-00009268 CA-00012097-001/002.; BACKGROUND : 2. The Worker appealed the Decision of the Adjudication Officer to the Labour Court on 14 November 2018. A Labour Court hearing took place in a virtual Courtroom on 12 January 2021. The following is the Court's Determination: -; DETERMINATION : This is an appeal by Mr. Coyle, ‘the Complainant’, against a Decision of an Adjudication Officer, ‘AO’, ‘the Respondent’, under the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2015, ‘the Acts’. The Complainant claimed that he had been discriminated against on grounds of age and that he had been victimised for having raised this issue with the Respondent. The Complainant commenced working for the Respondent as a Crossing Keeper in 1996. It is common case between the parties that, subject to medical fitness and business needs, the Complainant’s terms and conditions upon taking up this role permitted him to remain in employment until age 70. The Crossing Keepers were given an option of joining the occupational pension scheme in 2004. The ‘normal’ retirement age for members of the scheme was 65, since changed to 66. The Complainant took up the option to join the scheme. The Complainant lodged his two complaints with the Workplace Relations Commission under the Acts on 23 June 2017. The AO found against the Complainant on the two complaints and he appealed to this Court. The names of Mr. Jimmy Hopkins and Mr. Johnny Keady were given to the Court as comparators. The complaints were lodged on 23 June 2017, so the cognisable period was 24 December 2016 to 23 June 2017. The most recent date cited for alleged discrimination on the claim form submitted to the Workplace Relations Commission was 5 May 2017. The date on which the Complainant was compelled to retire was 4 August 2017. The Complainant’s representative stated to the Court that from the time when the matter of his retirement age was raised by the Complainant in February/ March 2016 up to the date of his compulsory retirement in August 2017 there was, in their view, continuing and ongoing discrimination. A complaint of discriminatory dismissal ‘ per se’ was not made to the Court but there was a complaint of ongoing discrimination in the...