A beauty salon has been ordered to pay a Traveller woman and her daughters €500 each in compensation for discrimination after insisting they pay cash up front for their treatments.
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) upheld complaints under the Equal Status Act 2000 by the family against the unidentified beauty salon.
In evidence, the mother, Ms A, said she and her daughters went to the salon as a “birthday treat” for one of the girls and on arrival was told by a hairdresser that the business would “only accept cash”.
She said she asked about the full cost then the owner called her to the counter and showed her a sum on a calculator. Ms A said she asked for an itemised breakdown of the figure, upon which the owner became “infuriated”.
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Ms A said the owner struck the counter with two hands and said “something to the effect” of “Do you want it for free? Are you trying to rob me?”.
The complainant said the owner also threatened to call the police and continued to be “rude and aggressive” to the point that one of her daughters became upset and suggested they leave.
Ms A said it was made clear she would have to pay up front for all the procedures and that one of the hairdressers also suggested she “run across the road to the ATM”.
She said that before she went out the hairdresser told her the reason the owner had behaved as she had was because a group of girls had been in the week before and failed to pay for procedures.
The hairdresser said this group were “also Travellers”, Ms A said.
Ms A said that, having paid up front as requested, other customers in line behind her were served before her.
It was “so obvious” this was happening that another customer noticed one of her daughters was “visibly upset” and offered to let the girl go ahead, Ms A said.
“Other customers who were not members of the Traveller community were not asked to pay for their treatments up front,” Ms A said, adding two other customers confirmed this to her.
Adjudication officer Orla Jones noted the failure of the business’s management to attend a hearing on the case last February.
In her decision published on Thursday, Ms Jones said she was satisfied Ms A and her daughters were subjected to less favourable treatment at the salon due to their membership of the Traveller Community.
She upheld the three complaints, awarding Ms A and daughters Ms M and Ms K compensation of €500 each.
Ms Jones anonymised all three of her decisions on the cases, also redacting the name of the business, to protect identities of the two underage complainants.
In a statement afterwards from the Free Legal Advice Centres, Ms A welcomed the decision, saying she and he daughter “did not take these cases for money”.
“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,” she said.
FLAC chief executive Eilis Barry said: “The family showed great bravery and resilience in taking these complaints.
“Unfortunately, there is no legal aid for victims of discrimination who take cases to the WRC. This means it is impossible for many people to challenge discrimination and to access compensation for its effects.”
Ms Barry called for the removal of the “blanket ban on legal aid for cases heard by tribunals like the WRC” and more support for legal services for the Travelling community and “other groups with high levels of legal need”.
