An 18-year-old girl who was refused buying National Lottery scratch cards at a Tesco outlet in Dublin was not discriminated against on age grounds, the Workplace Relations Commission has ruled.
Ms McInerney said that she would have asked her sister to wait outside the shop if she intended giving her a scratch card. She gave evidence that she produced her driving licence, when requested, to prove she was 18. However, the store manager refused to sell her the scratch cards because she was with her younger sister.
He said it was disappointing that Tesco did not ask the store manager to give evidence and claimed their policy was unfair and based on stereotyping and misconceptions. “It seems to me that, because the complainant was trying to buy the scratch cards when she was with her younger sister, she may have been treated differently to an older person,” said Ms Byrne.
The WRC official said the company’s “proxy sale” policy, which was the basis for Ms McInerney being refused scratch cards, is designed to ensure a person under 18 cannot be given cigarettes, alcohol or scratch cards by an older person to whom they have been sold legitimately. Dismissing the claim of discrimination, Ms Byrne remarked: “It was a reasonable response to a perceived risk and it was intended to prevent the possibility of an illegal sale.”