THE Pontins holiday company has apologised for its anti-Irish policies which saw Travellers banned from its holiday parks.
An investigation into a blacklist that was in place at Pontin’s, which featured 40 Irish surnames, was undertaken by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2020.
The list came to light when a whistleblower revealed that staff were required by the firm not to book holidays for anyone with names deemed ‘undesirable guests’.
Today the findings of that report were released, with an unlawful act notice served to Pontin’s for “several clear breaches of the Equality Act”.
A photograph of the Pontins original ‘undesirable guest’ list was also released in the report, which showed the names it included.
Among the 40 Irish surnames were the likes of Boyle, Corcoran, Doherty, Horan, McDonagh, Murphy, O’Brien, Stokes and Ward.
Pontin's 'undesirable guests' listIn its report recommendations, the EHRC called on Pontins to apologise to the Gypsy and Traveller community while “acknowledging their corporate responsibility and committing to a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination”.
Today a spokesperson for Pontins said: "We are in the process of reviewing the unlawful act notice and investigation report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
“The specific incidents reported by the EHRC are historic issues, pre-dating 2018.”
They added: "The call centre where the incidents took place has now closed and the majority of the staff involved have now left Pontins.
“We apologise to all who may have been affected. Pontins is committed to ensuring ongoing compliance with the Equality Act 2010."
Pontins has until April 9, 2024 to produce an action plan to set out how they intend to meet the report recommendations or the firm will face criminal sanctions.
“As regulator of the Equality Act, we will be monitoring Pontin's closely to ensure they take accountability and make meaningful change happen by implementing our recommendations,” Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said today.
“We also urge the wider hospitality sector to take heed of these findings and ensure they are not using discriminatory policies and terms that prevent people from accessing services because of their race.”
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