Pontins exposed for ‘gypsy name’ blacklist

Pontins have said they will now change their working ways after being exposed for blacklisting a set of surnames that ‘had connotations related to the travelling community.’

The Equality Human Rights Commission has signed a legally binding agreement with Pontins to prevent racial discrimination after the EHRC became aware of an ‘undesirable guest list’, being used by the organisation.

Staff were told to reject bookings from anyone with a surname appearing on a list.

In February 2020 the EHRC received information from a whistle-blower, employed by Pontins, alleging that the company operated a discriminatory booking policy that excluded Gypsies and Travellers. By declining to provide its services to guests of a certain race or ethnic group, the EHRC say Pontins was directly discriminating on the basis of race and breached the Equality Act 2010.

Surnames banned by Pontins:
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The discriminatory practices included:

• monitoring calls within its contact centre and refusing or cancelling any bookings that were made by people with an Irish accent or surname;
• a list of surnames, published on its intranet page, titled ‘undesirable guests’ which required staff to block any potential customers with those names from booking; and
• using its Commercial Vehicles policy to exclude Gypsies and Travellers from its holiday parks.

The leaked internal document for staff reads: “Please be aware that several guests are unwelcome at Pontins, however some of these will still try and book – especially during the school holidays.

“We have been informed by our Operations Director that we do not want these guests on our parks.”

The document is headed with a clipart graphic of a wizard captioned “You shall not pass”, a reference from Lord of the Rings.

The whistleblower told iNews that the most common tactic was to tell a blacklisted guest that their chosen date was full.

Alastair Pringle, Executive Director at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: “It is hard not to draw comparisons with an ‘undesirable guests’ list and the signs displayed in hotel windows fifty years ago, explicitly barring Irish people and Black people. Banning people from services based on their race is discrimination and is unlawful. To say that such policies are outdated is an understatement.

“It is right to challenge such practices and any business that believes this is acceptable should think again before they find themselves facing legal action. We will continue to work with Pontins and Britannia Jinky Jersey to ensure that our agreement is adhered to and its practices improve.”

A spokesperson from Britannia Jinky Jersey said: “Britannia Jinky Jersey Limited has agreed to work together with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to further enhance its staff training and procedures in order to further promote equality throughout its business.”

The agreement requires Pontins to:

• Conduct an investigation into the ‘Undesirable guest’ list to ensure appropriate action is taken within the organisation and that lessons are learned;
• Commission a review of its current intelligence system, booking policies and commercial vehicle policy to ensure they are not operating in a discriminatory way, and consider any recommendations;
• Provide enhanced training on equality law for staff in its Human Resources team and members of Senior Management;
• Provide training on equality and diversity for all customer facing staff on an annual basis;
• Appoint Equality, Diversity and Inclusion champions across the organisation.