Bus driver who was refused job awarded €6,000

A BUS driver who regularly drove 70 children to school has been awarded €6,000 after Bus Éireann refused him a job driving in a city centre, arguing the stress would be bad for his heart.

The man, a Bus Éireann employee in Co Cork, applied for the job of seasonal driver with the company because his school run did not operate during the summer months.

However, he was turned down for the job following a medical assessment by the company’s chief medical officer (CMO), who diagnosed a heart defect. The CMO said his condition represented “a risk of sudden incapacity while driving”, and the position of school bus driver was less stressful for a person with this type of defect.

The complainant, who took his case to the Equality Authority, argued the daily transport of up to 70 schoolchildren was highly responsible and involved a significant level of stress.

He described the school bus as an “old banger”, and said driving on country roads required constant vigilance.

The driver had 15 years’ experience with the company and worked an average of 30 hours a week. The new position would have meant the possibility of overtime and a substantial salary increase.

However, the CMO was of the opinion seasonal bus driving was extremely demanding, involving replacing scheduled drivers, shift work, city driving and tight scheduling.

He said the school bus job was less physiologically demanding.

Bus Éireann said it was the policy of the CMO to err on the side of caution in the interest of public and road safety.

The Equality Tribunal found the CMO had not based his claim that city driving was more demanding on any objective study but on his own opinion. The equality officer also said Bus Éireann did not require its drivers generally to undergo annual medical reviews unless they applied for a new position, so other drivers of city buses could also have heart defects or other medical complaints the firm was unaware of.

Bus Éireann was found to have discriminated against the complainant and ordered to pay him €6,000.

It was also found to have failed under employment equality legislation to take all reasonable steps to accommodate the driver’s disability. Bus Éireann was told to re-consider the man’s job application. Bus Éireann said it was considering the judgement.