Customer Charter
What is the Equality Tribunal?
The Equality Tribunal is the independent body set up by law to investigate or mediate complaints of discrimination. If you feel you have been discriminated against, you have the right to bring a complaint before the Tribunal.
This Charter is a statement of the standards of service our customers can expect from the Tribunal.
Our service commitments to you
Impartiality
We do not take the side of any party in a claim. We will remain impartial, neutral and independent of parties and interest groups in the way we serve you.
Professionalism
We will provide expert services through experienced and highly-trained Equality and Mediation Officers. We will continue to seek ways to improve the quality and standard of our services.
Accessibility
Our services are accessible to all, free of charge and do not require parties to use lawyers.
We will provide clean and accessible offices and meeting rooms that meet occupational health and safety standards. For people with disabilities we offer facilities such as audio loop and full wheelchair access. Documents in Braille and sign language interpretation can be requested.
When necessary, we will arrange for hearings to be held at locations throughout the country that are convenient and accessible to our customers. We will do our best to ensure that facilities at such locations are accessible for people with disabilities and other special needs. We will maintain an accessible, informative and updated website at www.equalitytribunal.ie.
Our Officer Manager is also our Access Officer. He can be contacted at info@equalitytribunal.ie or on 01 4774100.
Timeliness
We will deliver our service efficiently and effectively with courtesy and the minimum of delay, respecting the rights of all parties at all times. We will respond to your written general enquiries within five working days of receiving any request for information and provide a reply within 20 working days.
Our aim is to answer all calls quickly. If we cannot answer your question straight away we will take your details and call you back.
If you are calling personally to our office, we will deal with you as quickly and efficiently as we can.
Equality and diversity
We will make sure that we respect the principles of equality, and the diversity of our customers, in the delivery of our services.
Information
We will supply up-to-date, accurate and comprehensive information and use simple and clear language so the information is easily understood.
We will maintain an accessible, informative and updated website at www.equalitytribunal.ie.
We will publish every decision of the Equality Tribunal on our website. We will include information on our activities and commitments in our Annual Report, which we publish.
We will display these service commitments prominently in our reception area.
Service in Irish
When requested, we will provide services in Irish.
We will meet our commitments under the Official Languages Act 2003.
Other languages
We will assist customers whose first language is not English to use our services and we will arrange interpretation when needed.
Our information leaflets are available in French, Russian, Polish and Chinese at reception, by post and on our website.
Advice
We will provide general information on what happens when making a claim. However, to keep our impartiality, we will not advise on the merits of a claim or a potential claim under the legislation.
Feedback
We are committed to consulting with our customers and to evaluating our services. You can help us by
providing comments, complaints or suggestions about the service you receive,
completing and returning any customer survey forms that we may send you.
If you have a comment or complaint about our general service, please contact our Quality Customer Service Officer. You will find contact details at the end of this leaflet.
Equality Officers are independent when they hear and decide a case and the Tribunal cannot change a decision once it is issued. So, the Quality Customer Service Officer does not deal with complaints about mediation, investigations or particular decisions of the Tribunal.
Consultation and Evaluation
We will continue to discuss and review issues relating to our customer service with our customers and stakeholders through our Consultative Forum.
We will continue to conduct customer surveys to evaluate the delivery of our service. We will put appropriate means in place to measure and evaluate performance against the commitments in our Charter, which we will keep under review.
We will publish the outcomes of the surveys and report on our performance in our Annual Report.
Help us to help you
We can help you best if you:
· Provide any information you have which is relevant to your enquiry.
· Provide any relevant documents and reference numbers you have.
· Follow any checklists or guidelines you have been given.
· Provide a daytime telephone number or e-mail address in your correspondence if available.
· Tell us as early as possible if you cannot keep an appointment.
· Treat our staff, and other customers, with courtesy and respect.
Our commitments to parties to a claim
Mediation
We are committed to helping each side in a dispute, in an even-handed manner, to talk about the issues between them and, if they so wish, to help them reach an agreement that is acceptable to them.
Process
We will mediate only if neither party objects.
We will conduct the mediation in private.
Both sides may arrange representation if they wish.
Mediation outcome
If an agreement is reached between both sides, we will send a written document of the settlement terms to each side so they can verify them. When each side is satisfied with the final terms of the settlement, they each sign it and receive a signed copy.
If there is no agreement, we will write to each side to end mediation. By law, the claimant must tell us in writing within 28 days of the date of that letter if they want to go to investigation and decision.
Confidentiality
We will not publish settlement terms.
If a case returns for a hearing, each side cannot use information disclosed by the other side during mediation unless the other side agrees.
The Mediation Officer will not pass on any information from mediation to the Equality Officer who will hear your case.
Professionalism
We will adhere to a statement of principles that govern the mediation process. This statement is a code of ethics for equality mediation that is consistent with internationally-accepted standards.
All our Mediation Officers are accredited by the Mediators Institute Ireland.
Hearings
We will investigate and hear your case impartially and allow each side to present their case, so leading to fair and balanced decisions.
Process
We will operate procedures that are fair, transparent and as informal as possible and will allow parties to arrange to be represented if they choose.
We will conduct all hearings in private.
Work inspections
If work inspections are necessary for equal pay cases, we will carry them out in the presence of both parties and with the least disruption to the work place.
Decisions
At the end of a hearing, we will produce a document that includes a well-reasoned decision and a summary of relevant evidence.
We will write the document in simple and clear language that avoids as much legal jargon as possible.
Publishing decisions
Immediately after the Equality Officer signs the decision we will send each side a copy. The following month we will notify the national media of the decision.
We will publish all decisions on our website.
In sensitive cases, either side may ask for their names to be left out.
Our Contact details
Address: The Equality Tribunal, 3 Clonmel Street, Dublin 2.
Telephone: +353-1-477 4100
Lo-call: 1890 34 44 24
Fax: +353-1-477 4141
Email: info@equalitytribunal.ie
Website: www.equalitytribunal.ie