Travelodge must pay €63,000 to receptionist

The Equality Tribunal has awarded a total of €63,000 to a Polish receptionist who, it found, was discriminated against on the ground of gender and race, and then victimised by her employer.

Sylwia Wach began working at Travelodge Waterford in 2007 as an accommodation assistant before becoming a receptionist a year later. She worked an average of 42.9 hours per week. In March 2011, she went on maternity leave, returning that September.

In her written submission to the tribunal, Ms Wach said when she returned to work, her hours had been reduced and another staff member had been brought in from Cork to do shifts.

She said her manager expressed annoyance when he learned she had raised the matter with the human resources manager.

She said he stated her contract was only for 24 hours and, therefore, that was all she was entitled to. She replied that those 24 hours were “minimum hours” and that, on agreement with the previous manager, she had been working full-time for the last three years.

She said the manager also claimed her English was not good enough for day shifts. She replied she had been working day shifts for three years with no complaint.

The manager was also alleged to have said: “You have been off for the last six months with your baby speaking Polish at home”, and that the complainant would need to spend more time with her baby. She said she replied that she could speak Polish and English and that her partner was looking after the baby.

In October 2011, Ms Wach sent a written complaint about all the matters to her manager. As a result, a meeting was held in November 2011.

Ms Wach told the tribunal that following the complaint, her manager threatened to look through CCTV footage for any possible wrongdoing by her.

Travelodge did not give evidence to the tribunal.

Equality officer Stephen Bonnlander said he was satisfied Ms Wach was fluent in written and spoken English.

He said Ms Wach’s new manager “seemed determined to make life difficult for her” after she came back from maternity leave and he was satisfied she returned to less favourable working conditions than before.

“I find that the complainant is entitled to succeed in her complaint of discrimination on the ground of gender, with regard to her conditions of employment. I do not accept the complainant’s manager’s statement with regard to the complainant’s proficiency in English, and therefore do not accept his reason for not assigning her day shifts, I find that the complainant is also entitled to succeed on her complaint of discrimination in her terms and conditions on the ground of race.”

With regard to the complaint of victimisation, he said Ms Wach stated in evidence that her manager was incensed at the complaint and told her he would look through the hotel’s CCTV footage for disciplinary infractions on her part. He found she was then victimised a short time later when the sale of alcohol to a non-resident was raised against her but later proved to be without foundation.

He ordered the respondent to pay Ms Wach €21,000 in compensation for the effects of discrimination and €42,000 for the effects of victimisation.