A single employee took an equality case against the company after it amended his insurance policy to make him the main policy-holder and his female partner a named driver. The discount scheme allows employees who are married to have reduced insurance rates for their spouse's car as well as their own. The claimant found that he was receiving the discount only on his own vehicle, with his partner as a named driver.
He won his case before an equality officer, who awarded him £1,000 for stress resulting from the company's action. Eagle Star appealed the case to the Labour Court. It said the notion of a common law wife was not recognised in Irish law and the claimant therefore had not married, but the court has upheld the original decision.
The court, however, found that the company had breached section 2 (b) of the 1977 Employment Equality Act. This states: "Discrimination shall be taken to occur where, because of his marital status, a person is treated less favourably than another person of the same sex."
The court said the "end result of company policy is that the married employee is entitled to a discounted policy on two cars while a single, or non-married, person is only entitled to a discounted policy on one car."
The court upheld the £1,000 award, which it considered "reasonable in the circumstances".