A blind man who was told to either tie his guide dog up outside a Co Down restaurant or order a takeaway has been paid £1,250 in damages
James Cosgrove said he felt humiliated after being told by staff at the Bangla Indian Restaurant in Bangor, Co Down, that it had a strict no dogs policy.
Management did not accept that Imogen – his guide dog – was not a pet, or that refusing access was unlawful discrimination.
James said: “I felt terrible being denied admission in front of other people.
“Even though my friend explained what the law is, it made no difference.”
The Equality Commission took on Mr Cosgrove’s case and the company settled out of court and agreed to pay legal costs.
Mr Cosgrove, from Newtownards, Co Down, said he hoped lessons would be learned from his negative experience.
“Because I was able to take my case with the help of the Equality Commission, the owner of the restaurant has apologised and agreed to look at changes to the restaurant’s policies so that this doesn’t happen to someone else, and that’s really what I want,” he said.
Mary Kitson, senior legal officer with the Equality Commission, said disability discrimination was the reason for most of the complaints to her office.
She said: “This is a straightforward case in which lack of knowledge of the law led to unlawful discrimination taking place.
“Disability discrimination is, sadly, more common than people might think – our legal team gets more calls every year about disability discrimination than any other equality ground.
“The Bangla restaurant representatives will be meeting with our advice and compliance staff, who will help them make sure that their policies are compliant with the law and give them guidance on how to make their business more welcoming to people with disabilities.”
Andrew Murdock from Guide Dogs NI welcomed the settlement.
He said: “Looking forward to an evening out, only to be turned away at the door because your guide dog is not welcome, is the humiliating experience that many guide dog owners like Jim face all too often.
“The law is clear on this and we welcome this settlement and hope it will raise awareness of this issue.”
Source: u.tv