The Labour Court has quashed a €45,000 award made to a social care worker over her claim that she was discriminated against when she was not allowed to work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This follows Deputy Chairman of the Labour Court Alan Haugh's finding that St John of God Community Services did not discriminate against Ann Doherty under the Employment Equality Act by not allowing her work from home on the grounds of her family status when she was a parent and pregnant with her second child at the time.
Overturning a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) €45,000 award and finding of discrimination last year, Mr Haugh said the Labour Court found Ms Doherty’s claim that she was treated less favourably than other colleagues because of her family status following the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020 is not well-founded.
After hearing two days of evidence in the case, Mr Haugh stated that a key issue in the case arises from Ms Doherty's decision, on the advice of her GP, to commence a period of certified sick leave from the date that her pregnancy was confirmed in February 2020.
Mr Haugh stated that, apart from a few days of pre-arranged annual leave in March 2020, Ms Doherty essentially remained on leave connected with her pregnancy until she gave birth and then went on maternity leave.
He said Ms Doherty told the court that she went on sick leave from March 24th, 2020, because she could not afford to avail of unpaid leave and did not think it was appropriate to undertake work in a residential setting because of her pregnancy.
However, Mr Haugh stated that the consistent evidence of the employer’s witnesses is that Ms Doherty’s absence on medically-certified leave was the reason that she was not approached and offered the opportunity to work remotely when the facility to do so started to be rolled out around May 2020.
On behalf of the three-member court, Mr Haugh said: “The decision of the Adjudication Officer is set aside, and the appeal succeeds.”
A spokesman for St John of God Community Services welcomed the Labour Court appeal ruling, “and would reiterate that it did its utmost to protect all staff throughout the Covid-19 pandemic including the offer of redeployment and/or working from home opportunities where it was reasonably practicable for a frontline service”.
Childcare responsibilities
The case came before the Labour Court after St John of God Community Services appealed last year’s WRC ruling.
In his findings last year, WRC Adjudication Officer, Kevin Baneham found that Ms Doherty “was not facilitated with working from home when those colleagues without childcare responsibilities or who were not pregnant were facilitated”.
Ms Doherty was employed as an instructor, acting as a job coach to men and women with disabilities, assisting them to gain or maintain employment.
Her official work location was at St Raphael’s in Celbridge, Co Kildare, but she spent the greater part of her working time in the field, visiting places of employment and supporting service users.
In the court’s findings, Mr Haugh stated that the consistent and uncontradicted evidence of the employer’s witnesses is that St John of God Community Services had taken a decision as early as mid-March 2020 that it would have to prioritise support for its residential services over its day care services.
To that end, it reviewed the circumstances of all staff and redeployed available staff, including many with childcare responsibilities, to its residential services.
Those with childcare responsibilities who could not make themselves available for redeployment were offered unpaid leave only – paid annual leave was not permitted in accordance with HSE guidelines which the employer was subject to.
Ms Doherty told the WRC last year that she had resigned her employment in 2021 as she found the situation concerning her claimed workplace discrimination a humiliating experience.
Ms Doherty stated that she has lost a job she really loved. It was very convenient for her, and she felt like she was cheated out of the job she really loved.
Ms Doherty said that she would have liked to have worked there for years and her confidence was shattered by what had happened.
