Latest in Employment Law>Case Law>BT Ward Limited T/A Subway v Sandra Gegeckiene [2016]
BT Ward Limited T/A Subway v Sandra Gegeckiene [2016]
Published on: 15/09/2016
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Legal Island
Legal Island
{}
Background

This case involved a claim that the complainant was discriminated against on grounds of race, civil status, family status and gender. She submitted that after she informed her employer that she was pregnant, and requested paid time off, her hours were dramatically reduced. Subsequently, when her three month trial contract of employment terminated she was placed on an additional six month trial period.

Following the completion of this contract, she was dismissed based on the allegations that the respondent had received complaints regarding her work, and that she was less competent than other workers. They submitted that they feared that they could not dismiss her following her three month trial period as she was pregnant and waited until her additional contract expired.

The Court found that no supporting evidence accompanied the respondent’s claim of complaints, nor were any such complaints were communicated to the complainant. Accordingly, the Court found that the burden of proof under the Act had not been discharged inferring that the complainant was dismissed under the guise of a non-renewed fixed-term contract. Therefore, it was found that the complainant was dismissed on grounds of gender.

The Court ordered the employer to pay the complainant compensation in the sum of €10,000 for the unlawful discrimination, victimisation and dismissal determined in this case. The complainant had been awarded €5,000 in the original Adjudication Officer hearing.

https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Cases/2016/August/EDA1625.html

Continue reading

We help hundreds of people like you understand how the latest changes in employment law impact your business.

Already a subscriber?

Please log in to view the full article.

What you'll get:

  • Help understand the ramifications of each important case from NI, GB and Europe
  • Ensure your organisation's policies and procedures are fully compliant with NI law
  • 24/7 access to all the content in the Legal Island Vault for research case law and HR issues
  • Receive free preliminary advice on workplace issues from the employment team

Already a subscriber? Log in now or start a free trial

Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 15/09/2016
Q&A
Legal Island’s LMS, licensed to you Imagine your staff having 24/7 access to a centralised training platform, tailored to your organisation’s brand and staff training needs, with unlimited users. Learn more →