Despite recent advancements in rights for the LGBTQIA+ community in Ireland, sexual orientation discrimination at work remains a prevalent issue.
Statistics show that employees in Ireland who identify as LGBTQIA+ are significantly more likely to experience discrimination in the workplace than their heterosexual or cisgender colleagues.
So, what does Irish law say about workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation?
Which Act protects against sexual orientation discrimination?
The Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 protects employees against unequal treatment and discrimination in the workplace.
The Act states that employers will be guilty of discrimination if one person has been treated less favourably in the workplace than another person in a similar situation, based on any of the nine grounds for discrimination.
Employers have a responsibility to protect their employees from discrimination. As such, they may be held vicariously liable for any discriminatory behaviour against their staff.
What are the 9 grounds in the Act?
The Act defines discrimination as one person being treated less favourably than another based on any of the nine grounds below:
- Gender
- Civil status
- Family status
- Sexual orientation
- Religion
- Age
- Disability
- Race
- Membership of the Traveller community
What happens if an employee feels that they’re a victim of discrimination?
Firstly, an employee must establish they’ve been treated less favourably in the workplace based on one of the nine grounds set out in the Act.
If established, the employer could face a discrimination claim, or even be held vicariously liable for the discriminatory behaviour of another employee.
A successful claim for discrimination under the Act can result in serious financial and reputational damage to the business.
What could be classed as sexual orientation discrimination?
There are significant costs and risks for employers that fail to ensure that their workplace is inclusive and respectful of LGBTQIA+ employees.
It’s also important for employers to be aware of the ways in which this discrimination could present itself.
For example, many Irish employees report “microaggressions” as examples of sexual orientation discrimination. These could be subtle, sometimes unintentional, remarks or actions.
So, what could be examples of unfair treatment of LGBTQIA+ employees? They can include:
- Derogatory remarks relating to sexual orientation
- Bullying and abuse relating to sexual orientation
- Being “outed” in the workplace without consent
- Denying someone a promotion based on their sexual orientation
- Paying someone less than another person in the same position based on their sexual orientation
In the case of Marron –v- Board of Management St Paul’s National School (DEC-E2015-121) a primary school was ordered to compensate a teacher who had been discriminated against on the grounds of her association to her son being gay.
The school principal commented that the complainant’s son “had spent an afternoon shopping for clothes and that a ‘normal boy’ would not do this”.
The Equality Tribunal ruled that this amounted to discrimination by association on the grounds of sexual orientation and that the employee had been treated less favourably than other employees would have been in a comparable situation.
Have more questions about sexual discrimination at work?
Discrimination can be a complicated issue for employers to handle.
For example, did you know that there are various types of discrimination, including direct, indirect, victimisation, harassment, citation, and by association?
This – and more – must be considered when assessing employee behaviour and when facing a claim.
Do you have questions about proactively safeguarding your business? Need help dealing with an issue right now? At Peninsula, our team of experts is ready to help.
If you are a client, please reach out to our dedicated 24/7 advice line for bespoke, expert advice.
If you are not currently a client, please reach out to us on 1800 719 219.