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A Caernarfon bingo hall accused of asking staff not to use Welsh in front of English speaking colleagues didn't do "anything inappropriate," the Welsh Language Commissioner has ruled.

Aled Roberts said there was no basis for him to investigate the allegation further because it was clear that Majestic Bingo welcomed advice on the use of the Welsh language within the company.

It comes after language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith said they received a complaint that a member of staff at the Apollo in Caernarfon was told not speak Welsh because an English speaking manager couldn't understand.

The pressure group claimed the new manager gave an order in a meeting that the rest of the staff should not speak Welsh, especially if one of the three new staff members were present.

But managing director, Mark Jepp argued that the bingo hall "fully embraced" the Welsh language, however explained that not all customers or staff at the Caernarfon site were able to speak the language, therefore it was important that English speakers "understood the nature of any conversation" if it was "in a work context."

(Image: Arwyn Roberts)

Mr Jepp accused Cymdeithas of "setting hares running" before giving them company the opportunity to respond and described the whole issue as "doing a disservice to genuine discrimination."

A letter to Mr Jepp from the Welsh Language Commissioner who carried out an investigation, said: "I do not believe that there is a basis for me to investigate the allegation further because it does not seem to me that anything inappropriate happened."

He said he noted that advice on the Welsh language was welcomed within the company, adding: "My principal aim as commissioner is to promote and facilitate the use of Welsh by raising awareness of the official status of the Welsh language in Wales.

"Two principles underpin my work, namely the principle that in Wales the Welsh language should be treated no less favourably than the English language and that persons in Wales should be able to live their lives through the medium of Welsh if they wish to do so."

(Image: Arwyn Roberts)

Offering the company his team's help and support to develop the use of Welsh, the commissioner adds: "In your letter you note that you need to understand the nature of any conversation if it is within a work context.

"There is no need for everyone to understand everything all the time, individuals have the freedom to use the Welsh language with each other if they wish to do so.

"To avoid any misunderstanding amongst your staff, I advise you to make your staff aware that they are free to use the Welsh language in your bingo clubs in Wales.

"As a company which operates in Wales and employs Welsh speakers, it may be to your company’s advantage if you were to recognise the Welsh language’s official status and make clear in a policy document that you do not tolerate any restriction or barrier to your staff’s freedom to use Welsh with others who also wish to use the language."

Mr Jepp said: "Thankfully, we have not seen any negative impact on our business as our customers knew this allegation was a load of rubbish, however, it could have damaged us and put hardworking loyal staffs jobs at risk."

He added: "We pride ourselves in being at the centre of the communities we serve, however, we will take up the offer from the Welsh Language Commissioner, who has been very understanding throughout all of this, to ensure we are doing all we can to further support and promote the Welsh language and build on our current policies."

David Williams from Cymdeithas yr Iaith said: "As a group, we always stand up fro the rights of people and workers to use Welsh. We always treat complaints such as these with the utmost seriousness.

"Over recent months, we have seen a concerning rise in similar accusations of employers banning the use of the language. It's important that people complain to the Welsh Language Commissioner directly about any such accusations."