THE holiday park operator Pontins committed multiple acts of racial discrimination against Irish Travellers, a report has found.

Pontins, which suddenly shut its park in Prestatyn in November, has been served with an unlawful act notice by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) following its investigation.

The EHRC found that the company has committed several clear breaches of the Equality Act, including:

  • Creating a list of common Irish surnames labelled as “undesirable guests”, instructing staff to decline or cancel bookings made under those names.
  • Instructing call centre staff to listen for Irish accents to identify Irish Travellers and decline or cancel their bookings.
  • Labelling Irish Travellers and their associates as “undesirables”.
  • Maintaining a “banned guest” list, containing people Pontins suspected of being Irish Travellers and their associates like family or friends.
  • Introducing rules requiring guests to appear on the electoral register, a practice found to be discriminatory against Gypsies and Travellers, who are less likely to be on the register.

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The practices were originally revealed by a whistleblower, who shared the list of “undesirable guests” with the EHRC in 2020.

This led to the equality watchdog entering into a legally binding agreement with Pontins in 2021, to end the practices and prevent further discrimination.

But the EHRC terminated the agreement in 2022 and launched a formal investigation after Pontins failed to comply with the agreement’s terms.

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.”

Chris McDonagh, campaigns officer at Friends, Families and Travellers, added: “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.”

The EHRC investigation concluded that Pontins must:

  • Apologise to and engage with the Gypsy and Traveller community, acknowledging its corporate responsibility and committing to a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination. 
  • Monitor booking cancellations and failures in order to identify future or remaining issues.
  • Review and update its policies and procedures to ensure they are not discriminatory.
  • Develop and deliver training, including equality training regarding its legal duty to not discriminate.
  • Remove terms that stipulate electoral roll checks.

By law, Pontins must produce an action plan to set out how they intend to meet these recommendations.

A failure to comply risks criminal sanctions being made.

Baroness Falkner added: “As regulator of the Equality Act, we will be monitoring Pontins closely to ensure they take accountability and make meaningful change happen by implementing our recommendations. 

“We also urge the wider hospitality sector to take heed of these findings and ensure they are not using discriminatory policies and terms that prevent people from accessing services because of their race.”

Pontins must produce an action plan by no later than 5pm on April 9.

A spokesperson for Britannia Jinky Jersey Ltd, which owns Pontins’ sites, said: "We are in the process of reviewing the unlawful act notice and investigation report from the EHRC.

"The specific incidents reported by the EHRC are historic issues predating 2018.

"The call centre where the incidents took place has 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."