Beauty salon ordered to pay €1,500 to Traveller family

The WRC said that the beauty salon against which the allegations had been made did not have any representatives at the hearing.

A beauty salon has been ordered to pay €1,500 in compensation to a Traveller family in a discrimination case before the Workplace Relations Commission.

When a mother and two daughters went to the salon for a “birthday treat” for one of them, the WRC heard they were asked to pay in advance for their treatments when other customers didn’t have to, were shouted at by the manager of the salon, and left to queue for longer than non-Traveller customers.

“We did not take these cases for money, we wanted to challenge the unfair way we were treated,” the mother said.

“As a mother, I want my girls to know that people cannot and should not treat them badly because they come from the Traveller community.” 

In a summary of the case, the WRC said that the beauty salon against which the allegations had been made did not have any representatives at the hearing.

A WRC inspector said they had been notified in advance and did not provide any reason or explanation for not attending.

As part of the hearing, it was alleged that when the mother was called up to the desk and shown the full amount to pay, the manager/owner became “infuriated” when asked for an itemised breakdown of the costs.

It was alleged the manager/owner “hit the counter with her two hands saying something to the effect ‘do you want it for free’ and a further ‘are you trying to rob me', the inspector said.

Furthermore, it was alleged that another hairdresser told the mother that the reason for this behaviour was a group of girls who had not paid for treatments the previous week were “also Travellers”.

As minors were involved in the case, all parties were anonymised. Each of them were awarded €500.

The trio were represented by Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) at the WRC hearing. Its chief executive Eilis Barry said that the family showed “great bravery and resilience in taking these complaints”.

“These decisions are a stark reminder of the barriers and discrimination which Travellers constantly face in accessing services that the general population take for granted,” she said.

Ms Barry added that currently there is no legal aid for those who takes to the WRC which makes it impossible for many to challenge discrimination and access compensation for its effects.