Woman sacked from local specsavers after Manchester terror attack to get compensation

 

A County Donegal Specsavers has been ordered to pay €12,000 in compensation to a Muslim woman who was sacked the day after the Manchester terror attack last year.
The Workplace Relations Commission found that Letterkenny Specsavers Ltd discriminated against Amina Ferrah on the grounds of religion.
Adjudication Officer, Emer O’Shea said she was satisfied on the basis of the evidence presented that Ms Ferrah’s dismissal in advance of the standard three-month review constituted less favourable treatment on the grounds of religion.
According to the Irish Examiner, Ms Ferrah claimed she was sacked on discriminatory grounds “as a knee-jerk reaction to the fact that she was clearly identifiable as a Muslim” and that her employer “may have been overly concerned about public sentiment following the Manchester terror attack and the impact it might have on their business”.
The store strongly denied the claim of discrimination and said that the decision to dismiss Ms Ferrah was purely down to performance.
In finding that the firm did discriminate against Ms Ferrah, Ms O’Shea stated that it was accepted by the company that reviews of new employees would take place after three months.
However, no records of any reviews to support the company’s contention of ongoing reviews or records of any performance deficits on the part of Ms Ferrah were presented.