Compliance and enforcement aspects (horizontal provisions of all directives)
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11 Compliance and enforcement aspects (horizontal provisions of all
directives)
11.1 General (legal) context
11.1.1 Surveys and reports about the particular difficulties related to obtaining legal
redress
There are no particular issues about obtaining redress.
11.1.2 Other issues related to the pursuit of a discrimination claim
There are two issues related to the pursuit of a discrimination claim, namely publicity and
the costs of bringing such a claim. First ly, if a person brings a claim, the decision will be
published and unless there are issues that are personal, for example, a sexual harassment
claim, the names of the parties will be published on the website of the Workplace Relations
Commission. Such publicity may affect their future chanc es of employment more
particularly in a relatively small country. Secondly, if a prospective complainant is a
member of a trad e union, the trade union may act for the complainant as part of their
membership subscriptio n but failing that, there may be legal costs for the complainant;
although it may be noted that at the adjudication officer and appeal stage to the Labour
Court, there may not be a costs order245 against an unsuccessful complain ant.
11.1.3 Political and societal debate and pending legislative proposals
There are none.
11.2 Victimisation
Section 74(2) of the Employment Equalit y Act 1998 (as amended) provides that
victimisation occurs where dismissal or other adverse treatment of an employee by his or
her employer occurs as a reaction to a complaint of discrimination made by the employee
to the employer. ‘Victimisation’ also in cludes any reaction by an employer to any
proceedings by a complainant, an employee having represented or otherwise supported a
complainant, the work of an employee having been compared with that of another
employee, an emp loyee having being a witness in any proceedings under this Act or the
the above actions.
In Barrett v Department of Defence,246 the Labour Court set out the three comp onents
which must be present for a claim of victimisation under Section 74(2) of the Act to be
made out. It stated that the claimant must have taken action of a type referred to in
Section 74(2) – what it terms ‘a protected act’, and th e claimant must be subjected to
adverse treatment by his or her employer; and the adverse treatment must be in reaction
to the protected act having been taken by the claimant to stop the bringing of the
complaint.
The protection against victimisation complies with the Directiv es.
245 Unless the claim is frivolous and vexatious; such an order is remote.
246 EDA/1017 (Labour Court). See also Matthews v ESB t/a ESB Networks DEC- E 2015-068 (Equality Tribunal)
EDA1610 (Labour Court).
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