Mother to be paid €50k after childcare row

A HOTEL operator has been ordered to pay a woman €50,000 compensation after an equality watchdog found she was discriminated against at work because she needed time to care for her son.

The Equality Tribunal made the decision after it found the Hanly Group had discriminated against Samantha Long, harassed her and dismissed her, based on her family status.

Ms Long worked at the Lough Rynn Hotel in Leitrim as sales and marketing manager from 2006 but on the appointment of a manager for the group in December that year she had to alter her duties, and her employment was terminated in January 2007.