Holiday park operator Pontins has apologised after it was served a legal notice for engaging in what the human rights watchdog described as “shocking overt race discrimination” towards Irish Travellers.
Breaches of the Equality Act included creating a list of common Irish surnames labelled as “undesirable guests”, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said.
The commission said staff were instructed to decline or cancel bookings made under those names, and that call centre staff were told to listen for Irish accents to identify Travellers and decline or cancel their bookings.
A “banned guest” list was also found to be in place, containing people Pontins suspected of being Irish Travellers and their associates such as family or friends.
Pontins, owned by Britannia Jinky Jersey Limited, also brought in rules requiring guests to appear on the electoral register, which the commission said was a discriminatory practice against Gypsies and Travellers, who are less likely to be on the register.
The operator said it is reviewing the commission’s findings but insisted the incidents are “historic issues” and said it is committed to ensuring it complies with the Equality Act.
The commission said it was “deeply concerned” about the practices uncovered, but the charity Friends, Families and Travellers said while the findings were “deeply saddening”, they did not come as a surprise.
Chris McDonagh, campaigns officer at the charity, said they are “certain” Pontins are not the only providers operating such discriminatory policies.
A whistleblower originally revealed the discriminatory practices, having shared the list of “undesirable guests” with the EHRC in 2020.
The watchdog entered into a legally binding agreement with Pontins in 2021 to end the practices and prevent further discrimination but terminated that agreement the following year and launched a formal investigation, after it said Pontins failed to comply with its terms.
It has now been served with an unlawful act notice and must, by law, produce an action plan to set out how it intends to meet the EHRC’s recommendations.
The watchdog said Pontins must apologise to and engage with the Gypsy and Traveller community, “acknowledging their corporate responsibility and committing to a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination”; monitor booking cancellations and failures in order to identify future or remaining issues; and review and update their policies and procedures to ensure they are not discriminatory.
The EHRC said it must also remove terms that stipulate electoral roll checks, and develop and deliver training, including equality training around the legal duty to not discriminate.
The action plan is enforceable in court under section 22 of the Equality Act 2006, with criminal sanctions for failure to comply, the watchdog said.
Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chairwoman of the EHRC, said: “Our investigation into Pontins uncovered flagrant breaches of the Equality Act 2010.
“Their business practices demonstrated shocking overt race discrimination towards Irish Travellers and there was a culture of denial.
“We remain deeply concerned about these discriminatory practices. They were instigated and supported by senior managers and their leadership failed to take any action or accept corporate responsibility.
“Such unlawful and discriminatory behaviour is completely unacceptable, and it must never be tolerated.”
Mr McDonagh said: “It is deeply saddening that Irish Traveller people have become so used to hate and prejudice that the Pontins ‘blacklist’ did not come as a surprise.
“Whilst we are certain that Pontins are not the only ones operating such discriminatory policies, we welcome the EHRC’s investigation and commend the whistleblower’s principled stance.
“Everyone deserves to live free from hate and prejudice.”
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.
“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.”