Award of €64,000 made to education sales rep
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (the ‘Commission’) has welcomed two decisions of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) made in favour of Mary Tracy, against her former employer Smurfit Kappa Ireland Ltd t/a the Educational Company of Ireland (‘EDCO’). Ms Kara Turner, Adjudication Officer of the WRC, found that EDCO failed to comply with employment equality legislation regarding the provision of reasonable accommodation for Ms Tracy’s disability, and that she was directly discriminated against by the respondent in relation to her dismissal from employment. Ms Tracy was awarded compensation to the total of €64,000. The Commission provided legal representation to Ms Tracy in the case. Ms Tracy has a rheumatological condition called Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). This disability mainly impacts her joints and can cause pain following repetitive strain. Ms Tracy worked as a sales representative for EDCO, where she was required to lift a large number of books in and out of schools. Following an occupational health assessment, Ms Tracy was deemed fit to work with a manual handling restriction of 3kg for at least a 6-month period. She requested certain accommodations to meet these recommendations, such as using a box trolley or posting books to schools in advance of her attendance there to demonstrate and sell the books. She also suggested that there may be funding available to assist EDCO in the provision of disability accommodations. EDCO did not trial or explore these suggested accommodations, and instead offered Ms Tracy an ultimatum that she either accept an alternative role in the company, or be dismissed. Ms Tracy maintained that the alternative role offered was unsuitable to her, and that she was fit to carry out her then-current role with accommodations. EDCO terminated her employment on 22 August 2023 on the grounds that they believed she was unable to fulfil the essential duties of the role. Ms Turner found that EDCO failed to properly explore reasonable accommodations available to them and said:
“I consider this disability discrimination case to be a regrettable consequence of a lack of consultation with the complainant in relation to appropriate measures and the respondent’s assessment that the educational sales representative role was no longer viable for the complainant.”
She was not satisfied that EDCO had a clear understanding of Ms Tracy’s needs relating to her disability, or that EDCO explored appropriate measures for those needs. EDCO’s determination that Ms Tracy was not capable of fulfilling the duties of the role of educational sales representative was a breach of Ms Tracy’s rights under equality law, and the termination of her employment as a result constituted a discriminatory dismissal. Liam Herrick, the IHREC Chief Commissioner said:
“This case highlights the duty of employers to engage with their employees on an individual basis regarding the provision of workplace reasonable accommodation for disability. It is not enough to adopt a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach; the individual needs of an employee must be listened to, understood, and appropriate measures properly explored and tested before rejection by an employer. We were very happy to provide legal representation for Ms Tracy in this important equality case and delighted that her new employer has implemented her suggestions regarding appropriate accommodation measures for her disability.”
In relation to the decisions received now, Ms Tracy said:
“I very much welcome the decision of the WRC. I was very disappointed by EDCO in their decision to dismiss me, and their failure to properly engage with me regarding provision of reasonable accommodation. It was a very stressful, upsetting and difficult time for me. I was made to feel worthless, despite their position that I was a valuable asset to the company. There were never any issues with my performance at the job; their only problem was my disability. I am grateful that the Adjudication Officer has made this decision, and I think it is important that employers properly engage with employees about reasonable accommodation.”
ENDS/ The decisions can be accessed on the WRC website. ADJ-00046740: https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2025/january/adj-00046740.html Discrimination on grounds of disability re: reasonable accommodation in employment ADJ-00048355: https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2025/january/adj-00048355.html Discrimination on grounds of disability re: dismissal from employment For further information, please contact: Carol Hunt 01 8592656 / 087 4687760 carol.hunt@ihrec.ie Follow us on twitter @_IHREC Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is an independent public body, appointed by the President and directly accountable to the Oireachtas. The Commission has a statutory remit set out under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2014) to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland, and build a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding in the State. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is Ireland’s national human rights institution and is recognised as such by the United Nations. The Commission is also Ireland’s national equality body for the purpose of a range of EU anti-discrimination measures.