A filling station has been ordered to pay a taxi driver €7,500 compensation after a staff member called him by the ‘N’ word.
At the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), Adjudicator, Janet Hughes found that XYZ Retail Ltd, which operates the filling station and store in Galway, is vicariously liable for the discriminatory treatment of cabbie Daniel Asari in March/April 2021.
In her findings, Ms Hughes stated that she was satisfied Mr Asari was discriminated against on grounds of race and or colour under the Equal Status Act in the early hours of the morning of March 31st 2021 when he was ignored and denied service.
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Ms Hughes also stated she was satisfied that in the early hours of the following morning Mr Asarai was subjected to racial discrimination by the now departed employee in the form of abusive language over his race and or colour.
Ms Hughes said she took into account “the pattern of humiliating treatment of Mr Asari by the former employee compounded by the employer’s response to Ms Asari’s complaint”.
As part of the order, Ms Hughes has directed that the firm - which operates a number of retail outlets - amends its staff policies to include specific references to forms of discrimination under the Equal Status Act.
In evidence, Ms Asari told the WRC that on March 31st 2021, he went to get fuel for his car.
When he put the nozzle into his diesel tank, the same employee was looking at him but did not activate the pump.
Ms Asari waited about 30 minutes and was embarrassed because others who came in were served, but he had to get fuel from another taxi driver instead.
Mr Asari said that before that night, he had no previous dealings with that particular employee.
He said he was then denied service in the early hours of April 1st 2021 for a second time at the fuel station by the same employee.
Mr Asari described the employee as becoming angry, saying that he would meet him in court.
Mr Asari alleged that the employee started name calling using the “N” word.
The employee said that he was going to call the Gardaí, but Mr Asari was the one who rang them.
Mr Asari said that they came and took details and told him they were not in a position to make a decision, that he should get a lawyer.
In his formal complaint lodged with the WRC, Mr Asari wrote: “I believe that from my first interaction with the cashier, and subsequently the supervisor, that because of my race including my colour and accent, and despite my fluency in English, I was treated differently than I would have been had I been a native Irish customer.
“I was left humiliated and was forced to seek out the help of a colleague to assist me by bringing me enough diesel so that I could go to a different garage to fill my tank.
“The staff member treated me with obvious contempt, using a crude and prejudicial racist slur when speaking to me. They threatened to call the Gardai, insinuating that I had done something illegal, when I was merely seeking a service; a service which I believe would not have been denied to me were I native Irish customer.
“I believe that if I had been a native Irish customer, I would have received a follow up call from senior management.”
At the WRC, the retail outlet and petrol station stated that Mr Asari was a valued customer and that they would take a dim view of any incident of the kind described.
It claimed the matter on the second night was investigated, and the employee was interviewed and reprimanded by way of a warning and at the end of his probation he was let go in June 2021.
The firm stated that it was their understanding that the incident was about sandwich at the deli and the employee asked Mr Asarai to leave.
If there was an incident, the firm wanted to apologise for what had happened.
In clarification to Ms Hughes, the firm stated that the former employee was reprimanded for failing to provide a service to Ms Asari, and his description of what occurred related to an insistence on receiving a sandwich from the deli which was closed.
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