The Equality Authority welcomes the recent Labour Court decision regarding the discriminatory constructive dismissal of an employee due to pregnancy.
The employee was the only graphic designer employed by the company and was therefore regarded as a key employee. The employee informed her employer of her pregnancy. Following one day’s illness she returned to work to discover that her position had been advertised approximately six months before she was due to take maternity leave.
The Labour Court was satisfied that the actions of the employer in advertising her position without consulting her shortly after the announcement of her pregnancy, coupled with the suggestion that she should no longer work in the profession for which she was trained and recruited amounted to an undermining of the relationship of confidence and trust between the parties such as to entitle her to claim that she was constructively dismissed. The Court was satisfied that she considered all options open to her and that it was not unreasonable that she should wish to continue working in her professional capacity. It found that her pregnancy was a contributory factor in her dismissal, which was in breach of the Employment Equality Act and the Pregnancy Directive and awarded her €12,500 compensation.
Mr. Niall Crowley, Chief Executive Officer of the Equality Authority, which supported the case, welcomed this recommendation of the Labour Court as a highly significant award given that the employee had been employed for less than five months and that the award constituted approximately a year’s salary. “This recommendation sends a very clear message to employers that pregnancy discrimination will not be tolerated and that employers who discriminate against pregnant workers run the risk of incurring significant financial loss”, he stated.
“Gender inequality is a persistent problem within the workplace. Our current case files would appear to indicate that in some sectors women workers are almost routinely discriminated against, including dismissal, when they become pregnant. Of 266 current case files under the Employment Equality Act, 88 refer to gender discrimination and 35% of these refer to pregnancy-related discrimination. This is a situation that demands change”, he continued.
“We need concerted action to eliminate this discrimination. This should include:
- sustained significant awards from the Office of Director of Equality Investigations and the Labour Court to serve as a deterrent
- joint initiatives by employers, employees and trade unions within enterprises to create a workplace culture where the rights of women workers are respected and realised and where there is an informed awareness of these rights”, he added.
ENDS