Equestrian centre to pay €1k to child with autism they refused to enrol on summer camp

The WRC heard that the centre had a long history of assisting those with special needs including children who had been referred by the Autism Society. File picture

An equestrian centre has been ordered to pay compensation of €1,000 to a child who was refused acceptance to a summer camp because she had autism.

The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that the unidentified equestrian centre had discriminated against the child by failing to provide reasonable accommodation for someone with a disability.

The child, who took the case through her mother, claimed she had not been allowed to take part in the summer camp because of her autism. The girl’s mother said she had tried to enrol her daughter in the summer camp after seeing an advertisement for the equestrian centre.

She told the WRC she spoke to the centre on May 22, 2021, in which she explained her daughter’s level of experience with horses. The following day, the woman said she texted the centre to state she would stay on the premises during the activities as her daughter was on the autism spectrum.

However, the woman claimed the centre texted her back the same day to state that it did not possess insurance coverage for such an arrangement and would not be able to allow her daughter to attend the summer camp. She claimed that such an arrangement had worked well with other providers of activities for her child.

The woman also pointed out that the advertisement for the summer camp had stated that it was open to “all standards, beginners upwards.” She replied to the centre to say she was unaware of the requirement about insurance but that her daughter should still be allowed to attend the camp, but heard nothing further.

Equestrian centre's case

A manager of the equestrian centre denied the claim that it had discriminated against the girl on grounds of her disability. The WRC heard that the centre had a long history of assisting those with special needs including children who had been referred by the Autism Society.

However, the manager explained that a special needs assistant, who suffered an injury during one such session, had sued the centre. As a result, the manager said its insurance company imposed strict caveats about the people who could assist as leaders.

She claimed the centre was happy to take the child for the summer camp but unfortunately could not allow her mother to act as a leader as she would not be insured for such activities. The manager said the centre was also abiding by covid-19 restrictions at the time which meant the child’s mother would not be able to attend the camp.

In addition, she claimed the industry’s governing body had stated that leaders were not permitted for new or inexperienced riders.

Ruling

WRC adjudicator, Brian Dolan, said it was apparent that the equestrian centre was happy to allow the girl to take part in the summer camp until it was disclosed that she would require some assistance because of a recognised disability.

While Mr Dolan said he appreciated the centre may have had a reason for adopting its position, he found such a position fell short of its obligations under the Equal Status Act.

Mr Dolan said the mother had claimed she would “stay on the premises” in order to assist her daughter but the centre’s refusal had come before it had made any further inquiries about how this could be accommodated.

He said it was apparent the case was one of “a failure of communication.” The WRC said the centre’s failure to make further enquiries before blankly refusing to admit the girl to the summer camp fell short of the level of engagement expected of a service provider.