All complaints under the Employment Equality Acts and the Equal Status Acts may be brought to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is the body responsible for deciding on discrimination claims in Ireland in the first instance.
The WRC deals with both employment and service/goods related claims.
Gender discrimination claims have the option of going to the Circuit Court.
Watch the video below to see how to take a case to the WRC.
The WRC was created by a piece of law called the Workplace Relations Act 2015.
If your complaint is about discrimination relating to gender or pregnancy you can choose to bring your complaint to the Circuit Court instead of the WRC. However, it is important to note that if you bring your complaint to the Circuit Court and you are not happy with the decision, you can only appeal the decision ‘on a point of law’ (for more information, please see “Appeals Process”).
The Circuit Court hears cases in eight different areas across the country and these areas are called ‘circuits”’. Information on the different circuits can be found on the Circuit Court website. It is very important that you bring your case in the correct circuit. You should bring your case in the circuit where the person or organisation that you are complaining about normally lives or carries out their profession or business.
Here you will find information about how you bring a case to the WRC if you feel like you have experienced discrimination under the:
If you bring a case, you will be known as the complainant.
The person or company you are taking a case against will be known as the respondent.
You can experience discrimination in four different ways:
Direct discrimination
Where someone treats you less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of a different personal characteristic or circumstance that falls under the protected grounds.
Indirect discrimination
Where a seemingly neutral system or policy disadvantages you because of a personal characteristic or circumstance that falls under the protected grounds.
Discrimination by imputation
Where someone treats you less favourably than another person in a similar situation because someone has incorrectly assumed (‘imputed’) that you fall under the protected grounds.
Discrimination by association
Where someone treats you less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of your connection, relationship or association with someone who falls under the protected grounds.
Where a person believes they have been discriminated against in relation to employment on the basis of one or more of the protected grounds, the relevant law is the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 (EEA). There are nine protected grounds under the EEA.
Where a person believes they have been discriminated against when accessing goods and services, including, for example, shops, restaurants, accommodation or education, on the basis of one of the protected grounds the relevant law is the Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 (ESA).
There are ten protected grounds under the ESA.
The ESA has one additional ground.
The grounds under both EEA and ESA
are:
Gender including:
If because of your gender you have been treated less favourably than someone of a different gender, that is discrimination. For example, where you are female and are treated less favourably than someone who is male.
Civil status including:
If you have a different civil status to someone else and are treated less favourably for this reason, that is discrimination. For example, where you are divorced and are treated less favourably than someone who is married.
Family status including:
If you have a different family status compared to another person and are treated less favourably for this reason, that is discrimination. For example, where you are pregnant and another person is not. This example may also be covered by the gender ground.
Sexual orientation including:
If you are treated less favourably because you have a different sexual orientation to that of another person, that is discrimination. For example, you are bisexual and are treated less favourably than someone who is not.
Age
Where you are treated less favourably because you are older or younger than another person and there is no good reason for this, it is discrimination.
It may not be discrimination to treat a child less favourably than an adult, some exceptions apply.
Religious belief, including:
For example, it is discrimination if because a person of Jewish beliefs you are treated less favourably than someone who has Roman Catholic beliefs or who has no religious beliefs.
Traveller community
It is discrimination, if a member of the Traveller community is treated less favourably than someone who is not a member of the Traveller community.
Race including:
It is discrimination, if you are a particular colour, nationality or ethnicity and for this reason are treated less favourably than someone who is another colour, nationality or ethnicity.
Disability including:
It is discrimination if you have a disability and for this reason are treated less favourably than someone who does not have a disability.
See also: information about ‘reasonable accommodation’.
If you are trying to access housing or accommodation, the tenth protected ground under the ESA is:
Housing Assistance
It is discrimination if you have applied for, or are receiving, rent supplement, housing assistance payment (HAP), or any payment under the Social Welfare Acts and for this reason are treated less favourably than someone is has not applied for, or received, such a payment.
As a rule, each party is responsible for their own legal costs in the WRC.
The WRC cannot order you to pay the other side’s legal costs even if you are unsuccessful against one or more parties.
However, when bringing a case of gender discrimination to the Circuit Court, if you bring a case against the wrong person or entity, the judge may tell you to pay the other side’s legal costs. Therefore, if you are unsure about who you should bring the case against, you may wish to consider bringing the case to the WRC so you won’t have to pay the respondent’s legal costs.
Under the EEA, you must submit a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) within six months of the last date of discrimination.
That deadline may start from one of the following:
In exceptional circumstances, the WRC can extend the time for making a complaint by another six months. This gives a total time of 12 months, although the WRC very rarely exercises this power in practice. You can find information on how to apply for an extension of time on the WRC website.
Once the extension period has gone by, the WRC can no longer extend the time for bringing a claim.
There are a number of important deadlines to consider when planning to bring a complaint under the ESA.
Under the ESA, you must tell a respondent that you intend to make a complaint about them to the WRC.
You cannot take a case to the WRC under the ESA until you have contacted the respondent and given them time to reply.
You have two months from the last date of discrimination to tell the respondent that you intend to make a complaint to the WRC. You should do this using a Form ES1 (See “Do I need to tell the person or company that I am taking a case against them?” below)
In exceptional circumstances, the WRC may extend this period of two months in which to notify a potential respondent by another two months. This brings the total to four months. The WRC may do this only in exceptional circumstances and where it believes it is fair and reasonable to do so.
Learn more about the procedure to follow when applying for an extension of time.
If you receive no reply after one month or you are dissatisfied with the response you receive, you may then bring the complaint to the WRC.
You should submit this type of complaint using the WRC complaint form.
You must submit the complaint within six months of when the alleged discrimination took place or, in the case of multiple incidents, the last occurrence of alleged discrimination.
The WRC can extend the time in which to submit a complaint from six months to 12 months if it believes there is reasonable cause to do so, although the WRC very rarely exercises this power in practice.
In many cases, only one act of discrimination will occur. This makes it easy to determine when the six-month time period for bringing a complaint began.
However, there will also be instances where a discriminatory event is repeated over a lengthy period. A clause written into your contract of employment, for example, may result in continued discrimination. This is known as ‘ongoing discrimination’, and such a situation may be described as a ‘continuing breach’.
You need to be clear about when the six-month time limit to refer a complaint begins and ends. Even where you believe there may be continuing discrimination, it is important to be cautious and bring a complaint as soon as possible to avoid missing the six-month time limit.
Sometimes, it will be obvious that there is continued discrimination. It may be that the discriminatory practices or actions are still occurring when you bring a complaint.
For example, an employer may have paid unequal wages to men and women who carried out ‘like work’ for a long time. They then changed their practices and began paying men and women equal wages. This means, the six-month time limit for bringing a complaint started running from the date the change in pay was introduced.
Another example is if a shopkeeper has a sign in their window saying that people with dogs, including Guide Dogs, are not allowed to enter the shop. They then remove this sign and allow people with Guide Dogs to enter. The time limit for bringing a complaint started from the day that they removed the sign.
Some situations are not so clear-cut. Sometimes significant gaps will occur between discriminatory actions or practices. This makes it more difficult to determine whether there is a ‘continuing breach’. In these instances, there may be a series of separate things that are done, or not done, which result in discrimination.
If so, one or more instances of discrimination may be outside the six-month time limit. But where the discrimination is sufficiently connected to discrimination that did fall within the time limit, it may be possible to consider them as part of a ‘continuum’.
It is important to be cautious. Different people may have different ideas about whether or not there has been a continuing breach.
Under the EEA, there is no requirement to tell a respondent that you intend to complain about them to the WRC. You can lodge a complaint immediately with the WRC using the WRC Complaint Form. However, you may wish to contact them before lodging a complaint in order to seek out information to assist with your case.
Under the ESA, you must tell a respondent that you intend to complain about them. You must do this within two months of the alleged act of discrimination. If the discrimination is still happening, you must tell them within two months of the last time it happened.
You can notify the respondent using the Form ES1 provided by the WRC.
You may need to prove that you have notified a respondent, by showing, for example:
Personal details
You must provide your personal details on the ES1 Form.
This includes your:
If your address changes, you should let the potential Respondent know as soon as it does.
Specifying the category of unlawful treatment
There are five categories of unlawful treatment provided in the Equal Status Act (ESA).
They are:
It is important that you identify which category you claim you were subjected to. You may allege that you have been subjected to more than one category of unlawful treatment. You do this by ticking the appropriate box or boxes.
Specifying the ground on which you were discriminated against
Distinguishing what type of unlawful treatment, you have suffered and the ground on which you have suffered are two different steps.
There are 10 grounds under the Equal Status Act (like gender or civil status) on which discrimination can be based. You must specify at least one ground on which discrimination occurred and in some circumstances you may be able to show more than one ground. The definitions provided for each ground are quite restrictive.
You may also claim unlawful treatment because you have been the subject of victimisation, harassment or sexual harassment, or all three.
You may also wish to identify a comparator in your ES1 Form.
Providing details of the complaint
You must provide details of your complaint. In your ES1 Form, you should give details about the person or people you allege have carried out the discriminatory act or practice. You should try to be as precise as possible when giving:
You may also provide details of witnesses, though it is not absolutely necessary to do so in the ES1 Form.
Request for more information
You may look for information from a potential respondent to help you decide if you should bring a complaint or to help you advance your complaint. There is a section provided in the ES1 Form for this. In this section you ask questions for the respondent to answer. For more information, please see: ‘Steps to be taken before instituting a claim’ in this document.
Signature
You should make sure to sign the ES1 Form and provide your details.
You may need to prove that you have notified a respondent, by showing, for example:
Assistance
You can get more information about the ES1 Form and the process for completing it on the WRC website.
The WRC will respond to general queries and explain how the system works. WRC staff cannot help you to fill out the ES1 Form or advise you whether or not they think your complaint will be successful.
If the respondent is a company, it might be known by different names. However, all companies have an official legal name so it is always a good idea to do a ‘company search’. This makes sure that the name or description of the company is accurate.
You can do a free company search on the Companies Registration Office website. In some cases, an organisation or company may have a different legal name to the one they use for trading.
An example of this could be a shop front might be called “Joe Bloggs the Plumber”. However, the legal name of the company is ‘JB Plumbing Limited’.
It is important that you name the respondent by its company name, in this case ‘JB Plumbing Limited’. Avoid simply using its trading name, ‘Joe Bloggs the Plumber’. To use this example, you would need to list the respondent as, ‘JB Plumbing Limited trading as Joe Bloggs the Plumber’.
Sometimes when doing a search on the Companies Registration Office website, it can be difficult to identify who is the appropriate person or body to send your complaint to. For example, there may be several companies with the same or similar names, so you may wish to make your complaint to more than one respondent. The organisation you want to make a complaint against may also provide confirmation of the correct name to use if it is requested from them.
You can withdraw cases against incorrect respondents later, but you cannot bring a complaint against a respondent once the time to do so has passed.
If you are unsure who you should bring a case against through the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), you should name the respondents that you believe may be responsible. You should do this even if it is possible this may not turn out to be the case.
Before posing any questions to a potential respondent, you should consider what information you need to best help you argue that you have been discriminated against. The complainant must prove or provide evidence to demonstrate that the allegation (unproven claim or statement) of discrimination they have made is likely to have actually happened. This is called the ‘burden of proof’.
While you do not have to look for this information, it may help you to decide whether or not to bring a complaint. The information you get might also help you to advance your complaint. If you want to bring a complaint under the Employment Equality Acts (EEA) or the Equal Status Acts (ESA), you can:
You should take notes about any incident that happens as soon as possible afterwards. Include the date the note was taken on the document.
You may also have records of the discrimination in email or in text messages.
For example, if a person sends an email query to a potential landlord and the landlord replies saying that they will not rent the property to the person because they are receiving Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), or another social welfare payment.
It is important to keep these texts and emails, as they may be of assistance to the WRC when it makes its decision. This also applies to voice messages, paper documents and photographs.
Where available, with their consent, you should also record the names and contact details of people who witnessed the alleged (unproven) discrimination or who knew about it. They may be able to go the hearing of the dispute to explain to the WRC what happened and why they believe you have been discriminated again.
You can ask the respondent for any information that they have related to your case.
The WRC also have two forms that may help you to gather evidence:
For a complaint under the Equal Status Acts, the relevant information might be written on a document from the provider of the goods or service, including, for example, on a:
If you are making a complaint under the Employment Equality Acts, you might use information written on documents received from an employer.
This includes things like:
If you are complaining about a public body, the Freedom of Information Act 2014 gives you the right to look for and get copies of records held by public bodies. This includes documents that may relate to you personally and other public documents. We list examples of public bodies below.
You can ask for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2014 at any time, either before or after submitting a complaint under the EEA and/or the ESA.
Please note, a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2014 is separate to a notification under the ESA. For more information, please see ‘Do I need to tell the person or company that I am taking a case against them?” above.
You may be complaining about a public body like:
Read a full list of bodies to which the Freedom of Information Act 2014 applies
Reasons decisions were made
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2014, you may also ask for reasons for decisions made by public bodies that affect you.
Your request must be acknowledged within two weeks
You can make a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2014 by email or by writing a letter. Some organisations also have forms on their websites which makes it easier and quicker to submit a request.
Once you have made a request, the body to which you submitted the request must acknowledge it within two weeks.
The public body should usually deal with your request within four weeks. However, they may seek to extend that time if, for example, there are many documents they need to disclose (share). If they do, they must write to you to tell you that they need an extension. They cannot extend the time for more than a further four weeks (bringing the total time period to eight weeks).
The Data Protection Act 2018 provides everyone with the legal right to access personal data (in other words, personal information) held about them.
A respondent may be a data controller. For example, an employer may hold an employee’s file which holds personal information that is relevant to a potential case. In these circumstances, the employer is the data controller and the employee is the data subject.
Similarly, a shop owner may have CCTV footage that shows a complainant and how an incident of alleged discrimination occurred. The shop owner is the data controller and the complainant is the data subject. If you are making a complaint, you may look for this information to help you with your complaint.
You can put in a request to access information at any time and can do this in any way – in writing or verbally. These requests are the same as data access requests under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You do not need to submit two separate requests under both frameworks.
Written requests provide a clear record
If you submit your request in writing, this means that there is a clear record of your request. Some data controllers may have forms or a web page through which they ask people to submit requests to access data. However, they must provide other ways for you to ask for data too. You should include a copy of your identification with your request for information.
The law says the person or body must respond to your request within one month.
The Data Protection Commission can provide you with more information and advice.
A discriminatory event may be recorded on CCTV. If a person is on CCTV footage, they are entitled to ask for a copy of the footage. They can get this from the person or organisation who owns or controls the CCTV, known as the ‘data controller’. This may not be the respondent.
It is important to ask for CCTV footage as soon as possible.
In some cases, a person may suffer physical or mental harm as a result of discrimination. In these cases, the person should go to a doctor to get a medical report of any injuries or other negative effects.
The WRC has forms that may help you to gather evidence from the respondent.
Before posing any questions to a potential respondent, you should consider what information you need to best help you argue that you have been discriminated against.
While you do not have to look for this information, it may help you to decide whether or not to bring a complaint. The information you get might also help you to advance your complaint.
The type of information you might ask for could be as follows:
If you are thinking about making a complaint, you may also seek more general information. For example, if a female employee believes she is the subject of pay discrimination, she may wish to know what her male colleagues in the same or similar roles are being paid.
Form for Equal Status cases – ES1
For Equal Status cases, there is a section in the Form ES1 where you can ask questions for the respondent to answer, to help you decide if you should bring a complaint or to help you advance your complaint.
Form for Employment Equality cases – Form EE2
Under the EEA, the Form EE2 allows you to look for other information from a potential respondent. This may help you to decide if you should make a claim, or try to advance a claim.
Completing the Form EE2
Details of the respondent
You should specify the name and address of the person to be questioned.
Details of the complainant
You should provide your own personal details in the form. You must include your:
Specifying the category of unlawful treatment
You must say if you are claiming against a person or organisation (usually but not necessarily your employer) because they:
It is important that you identify which category you claim you were subjected to. You may allege that you have been subjected to more than one category of unlawful treatment.
You must delete (as opposed to select) the categories which do not apply to your complaint. You should do this by drawing a line through irrelevant categories.
Specifying the ground on which you were discriminated against
Distinguishing what type of unlawful treatment you have suffered and the ground on which you have suffered are two different steps.
There are 9 grounds under the EEA (like gender or civil status) on which discrimination can be based. You must specify, by ticking the relevant box, at least one ground on which discrimination occurred and in some circumstances you may be able to show more than one ground. The definitions provided for each ground are quite restrictive. For more information, please see: ‘What are the protected grounds?’ in this document.
Circumstances giving rise to a complaint
You must provide details of your complaint. It is not absolutely necessary to provide details of the witnesses to any alleged incident in the Form EE2. However, when referring to the person or people who you allege carried out the discriminatory act or practice, you should try to be as precise as possible about any:
In claims under the Employment Equality Acts, particularly in claims where it is alleged that there is unequal pay, you may need to provide details of pay. You may also need to provide the names, job titles and other details of people whom you claim do similar work for a greater amount of pay.
In the later section, you may provide reasons for believing that the treatment was unlawful, but you are not obliged to do so.
Questions posed to all respondents
The EE2 Form asks respondents:
Specific questions posed by a particular complainant
The EE2 Form allows you to look for other information from a potential respondent. This may help you to decide if you should make a claim, or try to advance a claim.
There is a section on the EE2 Form where you enter your wish for such information. For information on the types of information that may be useful, please see: ‘Steps to take before instituting a claim’ in this document.
When you are looking for information, you should do so by asking questions relevant to your claim.
You do not have to ask for material information, but it may help to decide whether or not you should bring a complaint. The respondent does not have to respond to the request for material information.
‘Material information’
Information is material if it is any of the following.
Reasons for action
The respondent’s reasons for doing or not doing anything that is relevant is material information. This could be in relation to any policies or procedures which are relevant or have a bearing on what they did.
Treatment of others in similar positions
Material information includes information about how the respondent has treated other people who are in a similar position to you. It does not include confidential information.
Other reasonable requests
Other information which is not confidential information and which it is reasonable for you to ask questions about in light of all of the circumstances of the case, is also material information.
The type of information you might ask for could be as follows:
If you are thinking about making a complaint, you may also seek more general information. For example, if a female employee believes she is the subject of pay discrimination, she may wish to know what her male colleagues in the same or similar roles are being paid. You can ask this information by submitting an EE2 Form.
Signature
You should make sure that you sign the EE2 Form and provide your details.
Assistance
You can get more information about the EE2 Form and the process for completing it on the WRC website.
The WRC will respond to general queries and explain how the system works. However, the WRC staff cannot help you to fill out the EE2 Form or give you advice about whether or not your complaint will be successful.
Form to reply to a request for information – EE3
The potential respondent, usually an employer, can reply to an EE2 request using an EE3 Form. They do not have to do so. However, if they fail to respond or if their replies are false or misleading, the Adjudication Officer may take this into account when deciding the outcome of the case.
You must provide your personal details on the WRC Form. This includes your:
If your address changes, you should let the WRC know as soon as it does.
There is a section on Employment and Pay Details. If you are filing a complaint under the ESA, there is no need to fill in these sections.
When you are making your complaint, you must provide details of the respondent in the appropriate section. The respondent is the person, organisation, or company who you say discriminated against you.
You must make sure that the name of the respondent is accurate and that you use their full legal name. The WRC cannot change the name of a respondent on a complaint form at a later date. For more information, including how to identify the correct legal name of a respondent, please see: ‘Steps to take before instituting a claim’ in this document.
If you are taking a case under the ESA there is no need to provide Employer PAYE number.
If you have engaged someone to represent you, whether it be a lawyer, trade union official or some other individual, you should tick the relevant box ‘Yes’ to show that you have done so.
It is important to know that the WRC does not have the legal power to direct that one party pay the costs of the other party’s representative, whether this is:
You do not need to have legal representation to bring a complaint to the WRC, but some parties decide to do so. The WRC is less formal than a court.
If you have notified the respondent by way of ES1 Form or EE2 Form, you should tick “yes”.
Please select “Discrimination/Equality/Equal Status”.
You will be asked to select a category of complaint.
Distinguishing what type of unlawful treatment you have suffered and the ground on which you have suffered are two different steps.
There are 10 grounds under the Equal Status Act (like gender or civil status) on which discrimination can be based, while there are 9 grounds under the Employment Equality Acts. You must specify at least one ground on which discrimination occurred and in some circumstances you may be able to show more than one ground. The definitions provided for each ground are quite restrictive. For more information, please see: ‘Relevant legislation’ in this document.
You should include the date that discrimination first occurred and the date the discrimination last occurred. These dates may be the same.
You should select the unlawful treatment that applies to you.
It is important that you identify which category you claim you were subjected to. You may allege that you have been subjected to more than one category of unlawful treatment. You do this by ticking the appropriate box or boxes.
If you are taking a complaint under the ESA, you should include the date that your notified the respondent using the ES1 Form.
The WRC requires you to forward a copy of the ES1 Form and proof of postage to the WRC.
You should tick whether or not you received a reply to the ES1 Form. If so, you should include the date it was received by you and send a copy to the WRC.
You must provide details of your complaint. In your WRC Complaint Form, you should give details about the person or people you allege have carried out the discriminatory act or practice.
You should try to be as precise as possible when giving:
You may also provide details of witnesses, though it is not absolutely necessary to do so in the WRC Complaint Form.
Practical Note – You should save or print a copy of your form before submitting to the WRC.
Both the complainant and the respondent will be asked if you wish to refer the case for mediation. Mediation is a way to resolve disputes where a mediator tries to find common ground between the complainant and respondent.
You will first receive a letter giving your case an adjudication reference number. The correspondence will tell you that an Adjudication Officer will be appointed in due course. The steps which follow after that are detailed below.
Mediation is voluntary i.e. you can choose whether or not to try mediation.
Mediation is less formal than adjudication (a hearing). Typically, the parties are in separate rooms in the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The mediator talks to the complainant first and then, having discussed what the complainant wants to achieve, talks to the respondent. The mediator then goes back and forth between the parties, trying to resolve the dispute.
If the complainant and the respondent fail to reach agreement, mediation is abandoned and the matter may be sent forward for adjudication.
You cannot opt for adjudication first and then mediation.
The advantages of mediation include that it is less formal than adjudication.
This means:
In mediation, for example, complainants might be able to get an apology, a commitment to undergo equality training and/or the payment of compensation.
The disadvantages are that no one will know about the discrimination as:
If mediation is unsuccessful, it will continue to adjudication unless the complainant withdraws their complaint.
If a mediation does not occur or is unsuccessful, the case will then be referred to an Adjudication Officer who will investigate.
Complainants and respondents will receive a letter telling them where and when the case will be heard. The Adjudication Officer will hear all of the evidence and then decide whether or not unlawful acts have occurred in breach of the Employment Equality Acts or the Equal Status Acts.
It may take a while for your case to be assigned a date for hearing.
However, where ‘special circumstances’ exist, an Adjudication Officer has the power to direct that a hearing (or part of it) should not take place in public.
All decisions of the WRC are published on the WRC website.
When a decision is published, it will include the names of the people:
There are limited exceptions to this rule. The exceptions are detailed in section 41 of the Workplace Relations Commission Act 2015. This was amended by section 4 of the Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021.
This may include removing the names of a complainant or respondent.
‘Special circumstances’ depend on the facts of each case, but may include the following:
You can ask for hearing to be held in private but this is not always granted
You may wish for the hearing to be held in private or you may not want your name to be published or both. If so, you can write to the WRC to request this. The Adjudication Officer may make a decision in advance of the hearing or may decide this on the day of the hearing.
If an Adjudication Officer decides to hold the hearing in public and/or decides to publish your name, you may withdraw your complaint before proceeding any further. This would avoid anything of significance about you or your complaint being published and/or reported on.
If you decide to bring your case to the Circuit Court, it will be heard in public. If the judge publishes a decision, this may be publicly available.
When a complaint is brought and a hearing date is given, the WRC will consider the location of the Parties (Complainant and Respondent). For example, if your complaint is against a shop or café in Kilkenny, there is a possibility the hearing might take place in Kilkenny.
The WRC process is designed to be as informal as possible. Parties do not necessarily need to have a solicitor or another legal representative, although many choose to have legal representation.
Hearings and mediations at the WRC take place in meeting rooms, with parties and adjudication officers or mediators sitting around tables. Unlike in a traditional court, in the WRC it is normal for everyone involved in hearings and mediations to remain sitting down. Special arrangements can be made to meet the needs of persons with disabilities.
The WRC has specific Procedures in the Adjudication and Investigation of all Employment and Employment Equality Complaints and Disputes.
Oral hearings before Adjudication Officers are now, in most instances, held in public and may be reported in the media.
If either the complainant or respondent wish to rely on documents to prove their case or to defend a case, they must submit those documents to the WRC at least 15 working days before the hearing. They must also provide copies to the respondent involved in the case at the same time.
Complainants should address or refer to the Adjudication Officer as ‘Adjudication Officer’ or ‘Chair’. The Adjudication Officer is responsible for directing the running of the hearing.
The Adjudication Officer will usually hear evidence from the complainant and any witnesses relied on by the complainant first. The respondent will then give evidence and call any witnesses it wishes to call.
Witnesses are usually first questioned by the person that asked them to attend. The aim is to get answers to help move the case along. Then they are questioned by the other party or their representative.
The Adjudication Officer will provide a written decision.
The decision will be sent to all of the parties involved in the case. It may be made available to the public through the WRC website.
Please note, it may take several months for a decision to issue.
If you have been successful as the complainant and the respondent does not appeal, the decision becomes final.
The respondent has 56 days to comply with (follow) an Adjudication Officer’s decision. If they do not comply with the decision in that time, you may apply to the District Court to have the decision enforced. This District Court should be attached to the area where the respondent ordinarily resides or carries on their business. Before applying to the District Court, you may wish to contact the relevant District Court office to get information on how to do so.
Under the EEA, if either party is unhappy with the decision of an Adjudication Officer, they may appeal it to the Labour Court.
The appeal must be brought to the Labour Court within 42 days from the date of the WRC decision.
Your appeal should be made using the appeal form. Those wishing to appeal a decision of the WRC should attach a copy of the decision from the WRC.
An appeal to the Labour Court means the case will be heard from start to finish again.
The Labour Court is more formal than the WRC. Three members sit on a panel to hear the complaint. This compares to one Adjudication Officer in the WRC.
Written submissions to the Labour Court must be filed within three weeks of lodging the appeal.
These written submissions may contain:
The respondent will then have three weeks in which to furnish their written submissions.
Under the ESA, if either party is unhappy with the decision of an Adjudication Officer, they may appeal it to the Circuit Court.
The appeal must be instituted in the Circuit Court within 42 days from the date of the decision.
An appeal to the Circuit Court means the case will be heard from start to finish again.
The appeal should be filed in the circuit court area where the respondent resides or carries out its business.
You need to fill out a notice of motion to appeal the decision.
The Circuit Court decision can itself be appealed to the High Court, but only on a point of law. That is, only if either you or the respondent can show that the Circuit Court acted in a way which was outside of their statutory powers. Appeals to the High Court are less frequent than appeals of decisions of the WRC to the Circuit Court.
Discrimination means less favourable treatment on one of nine protected grounds under the Employment Equality Act (EEA), or one of the 10 protected grounds under the Equal Status Acts (ESA).
Where someone treats you less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of a different personal characteristic or circumstance that falls under the protected grounds.
Where a seemingly neutral system or policy disadvantages you because of a personal characteristic or circumstance that falls under the protected grounds.
Where someone treats you less favourably than another person in a similar situation because someone has incorrectly assumed (‘imputed’) that you fall under the protected grounds.
Where someone treats you less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of your connection, relationship or association with someone who falls under the protected grounds.
Harassment involves any unwanted conduct related to:
The conduct must also intend to, or result in, or both, violating a person’s dignity and creating for them an environment that is:
Learn more about harassment and sexual harassment
Read our Code of Practice on Sexual Harassment and Harassment at Work
Sexual harassment is any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
Learn more about harassment and sexual harassment
Read our Code of Practice on Sexual Harassment and Harassment at Work
Reasonable accommodation involves an employer or service provider making practical changes so that people with disabilities can access and use services, or take part in employment, or both, on an equal basis with others. This includes services that are paid for and those that are free.
Learn more about your rights to reasonable accommodations under the Equal Status Acts
Learn more about your rights to reasonable accommodations under the Employment Equality Acts
In the context of the EEA and ESA, a complainant is a person who claims they have been discriminated against and/or harassed. The complainant makes a complaint about or takes a claim against the person or organisation they claim was responsible for the discrimination and/or harassment.
In the context of the EEA and ESA, a respondent is a person or organisation or company that an individual claims is guilty of carrying out acts of discrimination against them and/or harassment.
Evidence may be in the form of:
Evidence may be introduced by a complainant or respondent at the hearing of a dispute at the WRC.
Evidence may also be provided by a person, commonly referred to as a ‘witness’, in oral evidence.
Witnesses, including a complainant, will be asked to swear an oath or affirmation before giving oral evidence, to confirm that they will tell the truth to the WRC.
There is a right to cross-examine any witnesses called by the other side.
Very often, the person bringing the complaint to the WRC will tell the WRC about what happened to them in their own words.
They will describe things like:
If a person has legal representation, their solicitor or barrister will guide them through their evidence with a series of questions. When a person gives evidence in their own case, it is called ‘direct evidence’.
Once the person has finished giving direct evidence, the other side has the right to ask them questions. This is called ‘cross-examination’.
While many people find the idea of direct evidence and cross-examination intimidating, it might help to know that the WRC is less formal than a normal court. If you do not understand the question, you can ask for the question to be repeated or rephrased.
After cross-examination, the person calling the witness has a final chance to ask more questions to clarify or provide more information about what they may have said during cross-examination. The Adjudication Officer may also ask the witness some questions.
An Adjudication Officer investigates disputes and claims that individuals make under the EEA and ESA.
They:
An Adjudication Officer’s role is similar to that of a judge in a normal court, but they are likely to act in a less formal manner, and you should call them ‘Chair’ or ‘Adjudication Officer’.
The complainant must prove or provide evidence to demonstrate that the allegation (unproven claim or statement) of discrimination they have made is likely to have actually happened. This is called the ‘burden of proof’.
Once the complainant has shown that the discrimination is likely to have happened, they are said to have shown a ‘prima facie’ (‘at first sight’) case of discrimination.
The burden of proof now shifts to the other side.
This means the party answering the complaint must now show that they either:
This defence may be that there was a good reason permitted by law for the discrimination.
Under the EEA, for example, if evidence at the hearing shows that a pregnant employee told her boss during her lunch break that she was pregnant and was then dismissed from her job soon after, the ‘burden of proof’ is likely to then move to the respondent, in this case the employer, to give evidence to show that the employee’s pregnancy was not the reason for her dismissal from her job.
Under the ESA, for example, if evidence at the hearing shows that a member of the Roma community entered a shop to buy bread and milk and that the shop assistant behind the till refused to serve them, then the ‘burden of proof’ is likely to move to the respondent, in this case the shop, to provide evidence to show that the customer was not refused service because they were a member of the Roma community.
A complainant will need to be able to show that they have been treated less favourably than another person has been or would be treated in a similar situation. The other person is called the ‘comparator’. For example,
Under the Employment Equality Acts, for example, if a female employee claims she has been discriminated against because she is a woman, it will be necessary for her to provide evidence to show that her male colleague has been treated more favourably than her. In this example, the male colleague is described as the ‘comparator’.
Victimisation occurs where a person is treated badly or punished as a result of having made a complaint to the WRC or having been involved in some way in a complaint.
For example by:
An example might be where a person complains to the WRC that their employer has harassed them. If the employer demotes them for making the complaint, that demotion may be a form of victimisation. It does not matter if the original complaint of harassment was successful or not. The key question is whether the person was victimised for making a complaint in the first place.
Before a hearing takes place, the person making the complaint and the person or group being complained about, may put their legal arguments in writing and send them to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). These are called written submissions.
These written submissions detail what each person wants to say about the case.
Written submissions will usually include details of:
Previous decisions the WRC has made about similar complaints may support a complainant. This can be particularly helpful if their case is similar to other successful cases.
Complainants may wish to refer to other cases in their written and/or oral submissions for that reason. You can find these on the WRC Decisions Database.
The WRC has certain rules about when written submissions should be sent to the WRC and to the other party.
At the moment, submissions and any other documentation a complainant or respondent wishes to rely upon must be sent 15 working days before the date of the hearing.
If this rule is not followed by the other side, a complainant may ask for the case to be adjourned, in other words, heard on another day. This ensures fairness and that they have time to review the documents. This request can be made to the Adjudication Officer on the day of a hearing.