A PROTESTANT man, who failed to be appointed to posts of caretaker at two Catholic schools in Co Derry, has been, awarded £12,500 in settlement of an unlawful religious discrimination case, writes Gerry Moriarty.
The payment was made by the North Eastern Education and Library Board, which has ultimate responsibility for appointing caretakers, although it was the boards of governors of the two schools which made the decision not to appoint the aggrieved Protestant.
The Fair Employment Commission (FEC), which supported the case, did not identify the schools. The FEC yesterday argued that as the case was against the North Eastern Board, and as pupils and individual teachers at the schools were not responsible for the religious discrimination, it would be improper to name the schools.
The board accepted that the man had been discriminated against on grounds of religion.
In a separate case a Protestant man accepted £10,000 from his former employer, Cootes builders merchants, Ballygawley, Co Tyrone. It was in settlement of his complaint that in the termination of his contract of employment he was subjected to religious discrimination and was unfairly dismissed.