A gym goer who was told she was too old to apply for a student discount on her membership has won €3,000 for ageist discrimination.
The award was made by the Workplace Relations Commission on foot of an Equal Status Act 2000 complaint by Margaret Fitzpatrick against West Wood Club CLG, which operates a number of gyms and swimming pools in Dublin.
Setting out her case to a hearing last November, Ms Fitzpatrick explained that she had been a member of her local gym for around 14 years when she became a full-time student in April 2023.
She said she went in and asked about switching to its student membership rate the following month and showed her student card for verification, but was told she was ineligible because she was “more than 25 years old”.
Teeth grinding and clenching can have more serious effects than annoying your bedfellow
Storm Éowyn: Roscommon reeling and counting the cost
The Whale Tattoo and The Gallopers by Jon Ransom: A pair of intriguing, imperfect novels
Hit (and miss) parade – Frank McNally on the mixed fortunes of a who’s who list from 40 years ago
Ms Fitzpatrick said she served statutory notice on the company alleging discrimination in June that year but got no response back.
Denying the claim, West Wood’s solicitors, Peter Duff & Co, submitted the gym’s “full time student membership” was restricted to those aged under 25 and that it “did not discriminate against the claimant in a manner contrary to the provisions of the Equal Status Acts”.
“The respondent’s position is very straightforward and they would argue that the act allows for discrimination,” WRC adjudicator Jim Dolan noted.
Ruling Ms Fitzpatrick’s complaint to be well-founded, he ordered the gym to pay her €3,000 in compensation.
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
