A sales representative working for a hair and beauty products supplier in Donegal, who alleged he was being forced out of his position to make way for a younger salesman, has been awarded €106,000 in compensation.
The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that Jules Hair and Beauty Supplies, based in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, had discriminated against sales rep Damien O’Doherty on the grounds of both age and disability, in breach of the Employment Equality Act 1998, reports Breaking News.
The award was equivalent to two years’ salary.
O’Doherty, who had been with the company for over 22 years, alleged he was discriminated against on the grounds of his disability and age after being placed on a different pay rate to a younger colleague, reports Breaking News.
The WRC received medical evidence confirming that he had experienced a serious decline in his mental health as a result of work-related stress.
O’Doherty further alleged that he was victimised by his employer’s failure to pay him compensation of €6,561 that had been awarded by the WRC in January 2024 in a separate earlier case concerning unpaid wages, reports Breaking News.
He claimed he was penalised by his employer for taking another case against the company before the WRC, as no reasonable alternative explanation had been provided for such a blatant disregard of a WRC ruling.
The WRC heard that the company reached a settlement with the younger sales rep after both men had lodged pay claims with the WRC but before any hearing had taken place, reports Breaking News.
O’Doherty said he was met with hostility and immediately suspended when he enquired whether the company intended to resolve his pay claim in a similar manner.
The WRC heard of an incident in August 2023 in which he was verbally abused and subjected to derogatory language, including being called “a toss pot” with references made to his mental health, just a week after O’Doherty had disclosed his disability to his employer upon questioning why his colleague had been granted more favourable commission conditions, reports Breaking News.
O’Doherty said he had informed his employer about his mental health difficulties in the hope that he would no longer be treated less favourably.
He recalled attempting to highlight that his colleague’s higher sales figures were a result of covering a larger territory that included both Donegal and Derry, reports Breaking News.
He told the WRC that he felt extremely vulnerable during the meeting, as he was being treated less favourably than a younger salesman with significantly less experience and years of service.
Lawyers for Jules Hair and Beauty Supplies argued that the difference in earnings stemmed from a gap in performance between the two sales representatives, which O’Doherty was attempting to attribute to a disability caused by his employer in order to seek “punitive redress,” reports Breaking News.
WRC adjudication officer Shay Henry said the company had failed to provide any evidence to counter O’Doherty’s claims.
Henry noted that the other sales representative had been treated differently, having secured an agreement on his pay ahead of a WRC hearing, reports Breaking News.
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