Baroness Kishwer Falkner

In February, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published an investigation into Pontins and served the company with an unlawful act notice.

The investigation uncovered company systems and practices aimed at barring Irish Travellers from the company’s holiday parks between 2013 and 2018.

The EHRC’s investigation found 11 unlawful acts which discriminated against Irish Travellers, including monitoring calls within its contact centre and refusing or cancelling any bookings that were made by people with an Irish accent or surname.

Pontins maintained a list of Irish surnames, published on its intranet page, entitled “undesirable guests”, and staff were required to block any potential customers with those names from making bookings.

It also introduced an electoral roll requirement in its booking terms and conditions as a disguised form of discrimination against the Traveller community.

The action plan, agreed between Pontins and the EHRC, will introduce a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination. This includes the removal of the electoral roll terms with a commitment to not reintroducing the term.

To address the unlawful acts uncovered by the EHRC, the actions agreed will focus on the monitoring of booking policies, the introduction of safeguards in systems and processes, a whistleblower action plan and engagement with Traveller communities.

Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: “Race and ethnicity should never be a barrier to going on holiday.

“Pontins has today apologised to the Irish Traveller community it discriminated against and has begun work to introduce strict safeguards and guarantee a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination.

“I hope those affected are reassured that when the EHRC find evidence of such flagrant discrimination, we act to hold those responsible to account.

“The wider holiday sector should ensure that their policies and procedures do not breach equality law. Our investigation report recommended removal of electoral roll terms and conditions across the sector.”

By publishing a formal apology to the Gypsy and Traveller community, Pontins is implementing the first step in the action plan.

A spokesperson for Pontins said: “On behalf of the owners, directors, senior managers and all of us here at Pontins, we would like to reiterate our apologies regarding the serious issues raised by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in their report.

“In particular we want to apologise directly to the Traveller and Gypsy community. The refusal to allow guests to stay at our parks because we suspected they were Irish Travellers was clearly wrong.

“We accept the serious nature of the issues raised in the report. We deeply regret any distress caused, particularly to members of the traveller and gypsy communities who have been directly affected.

“Working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission we are fully committed to ensuring ongoing compliance with the Equality Act 2010, implementing a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination of all forms and to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for all of our guests.

“We have reviewed the points raised by the EHRC and have developed and entered into a one-year action plan, that will be monitored by the EHRC, to ensure ongoing compliance with the Equality Act 2010.”

The EHRC will monitor the implementation of the action plan.