A CATHOLIC man has been awarded more than £22,600 sterling by the Fair Employment Tribunal following a finding of religious discrimination against the Police Authority for Northern, Ireland.
The tribunal's finding said the authority had displayed "a stunning ignorance of what is involved in the promotion of equal opportunities".
The man cannot be named on order of the tribunal. An earlier hearing was told that he had applied for the post of armourer with the authority in November, 1990. Ten applicants, all Protestant, were said to be suitable.
The tribunal found that the Catholic man was as well qualified and experienced for the post as three of the successful candidates and that two others deemed to be suitable had not met the criteria for the job and should not have been shortlisted.
In addition to the compensation award, the tribunal recommended that the authority should bring any vacancy for an armourer arising or known before December 31st, 1997, to the complainant's attention.
The tribunal found that the man was deprived of employment because of his religious belief. It said that "as an exercise in recruitment by a large public body with a professional staff and a professed commitment to equal opportunities, this exercise was an absolute disaster, from shortlisting until tribunal hearing." The way in which interviews had been conducted was "fundamentally contrary" to the guidance for employers set out in the Fair Employment Code of" Practice.
The Police Authority's attempts to explain the unfair treatment had, been "contrary to common sense and incredible in a number of aspects".
Commenting on the decision, the chairman of the Fair Employment Commission, Mr Bob Cooper, said one of the cornerstones on which fair employment was founded was, the duty on all employers to ensure that all applicants for jobs, regards less of community background, religious belief or any other extraneous factor, would have their aptitudes, talents and abilities objectively assessed. That was fundamental and the law had placed that firmly in law.
He said at the time of the incident, the Police Authority had broken every rule in the book on equal opportunities. However, the Commission recognised that this act of discrimination occurred in November 1990, and the Police Authority, in common with many employers, had made major procedural changes since then.