It was also discovered that the operator of the vacation camp had given call center employees instructions to scan for Irish accents and subsequently reject or cancel reservations.
The EHRC conducted an investigation into the holiday camp operator’s actions after a whistleblower disclosed the practice in 2020, finding “flagrant breaches of the Equality Act.”\
It was also discovered that Britannia Jinky Jersey Ltd.’s Pontins had trained call center employees to keep a “banned guest” list of individuals they believed to be Irish travelers and to listen for Irish accents before declining or canceling their reservations.
It was discovered that the company’s introduction of regulations mandating guests to be registered voters discriminated against Gypsies and Travelers, who are less likely to be on the electoral roster.
Following an inquiry, the EHRC ordered the corporation to provide an apology to the community and implement equality training. Failure to comply with this directive could result in criminal proceedings against the company.
The chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Baroness Kishwer Falkner, commented on the probe, saying: “Our investigation into Pontins uncovered flagrant breaches of the Equality Act 2010.”
“There was a culture of denial and startling overt racial discrimination towards Irish Traveler’s in their commercial dealings.
