This case is an appeal of the Adjudication Officer’s decision, which found in favour of the Complainant, brought Respondent company (G4S Secure Solutions Ireland Limited). The Complainant was employed by the Respondent company since 2014 on a contract that stated she would be primarily based on the Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) site in Swords. The Complainant was due to return to work on the 5th of March 2018, following her maternity leave. Two days prior, the Complainant was invited to attend a meeting in which she was informed that she would not be able to return to the BMS site, as the client had requested that she would not return. The Complainant was offered an alternative position of a three-month contract working in the head office in Ballymount which was later extended to a six-month contract. The Respondent did not make any other offers to her relating to suitable alternative positions.

The Complainant submitted that she was discriminated in that the Respondent did not comply with its statutory obligations of the Maternity Protection Act 1994. The Complainant added that by refusing to allow her to return to her job or a suitable alternative position following her maternity leave amounted to discriminatory treatment on the grounds of gender. The new position that the Complainant was offered involved a four-hour daily commute.

The Respondent denied any allegations of discrimination and provided that the treatment of the Complainant had nothing to do with them but rather it was the client’s request to retain the male employee who provided cover while the Complainant was on maternity leave. Therefore, the reason for her treatment was unconnected with her pregnancy. Despite engaging with the Client between the 22nd of February 2018 and the 3rd of March 2018 they were unable to get agreement from the Client to allow the Complainant return to her assigned site.

The court found that the Complainant’s statutory rights were more significant than the contract that the Respondent had with the client. The Court noted that no other option was put to the Complainant at any stage in the process, and therefore was satisfied that the Complainant had been discriminatorily dismissed. Accordingly, the Complainant was awarded €51,168 which is the maximum amount of compensation the Court could award in this case (two years' salary).

https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2019/june/eda1919.htm