Category: Equality and Discrimination
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Redundancy and Maternity Leave in Irish Employment Law-the essentials
An employee on maternity leave is on “protective leave” and cannot have her contract of employment terminated. This protection also applies to any purported redundancy. Section 23 of the Maternity Protection Act 1994 provides the protection: Voidance of certain purported terminations of employment, etc. 23.—Each of the following shall be void: (a) any purported termination…
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Performance review triggers psychiatric illness; non-payment for pack of cigarettes leads to Tesco paying €23,363 for unfair dismissal
Scrolling through my Twitter feed this morning I came across two interesting cases. Performance review triggers psychiatric illness/disability The first involved an employee who brought a successful claim for harassment on the grounds of disability. She had been subject to an unhappy performance review and was awarded €8,000 for the claim of harassment under the…
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Small primary school wins reasonable accommodation case brought by teacher
Employers are obliged to provide reasonable accommodation for employees with a disability. This can create difficulties for small employers. A recent case at the Workplace Relations Commission involving a small primary school is a good example of the difficulties that can arise. Background to WRC claim The teacher had been out on sick leave and…
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Inappropriate questions at job interviews lead to payouts for discrimination
If you are an employer, you cannot be too careful about the questions you ask at the interview stage of the recruitment process. Two recent decisions from the WRC (Workplace Relations Commission) give us a blunt reminder on this point. Where are you from? One employer was ordered to pay €1,500 to an unsuccessful candidate…
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Forced retirement at age 68 leads to €31,000 award for unfair dismissal at WRC
The employee in this case was 68 years of age when his employment was terminated on the grounds of age. James Spencer claimed there was no compulsory retirement in the workplace, and others had been permitted to work past the age of 68. The employer claimed there was a company retirement age of 66. The…