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.

She told the tribunal she informed those in charge at Lough Rynn that she would not be available for travel assignments or for overtime work because she had to care for her son.

When the group general manager subsequently asked her to go on the road for work, the relationship with her employer deteriorated and she lodged a complaint of bullying and harassment with the group CEO.

The equality officer found no evidence that Ms Long refused to undertake the role agreed at her recruitment and that she had been discriminated against.

It was one of five employment equality decisions upheld or part-upheld by the Equality Tribunal in February.

In one case, Sharlene Kennedy was awarded €22,000 after she took a case against ADC Plasticard Ltd. She worked as a receptionist at the company from mid-May, 2006.

She told the tribunal that she discovered she was pregnant and when she spoke to her manager she was told that the company does not “do maternity leave” and that she would be let go from her job.

The investigating officer ruled: “I am not convinced [Ms Kennedy] left the employment of her own accord... I find that the termination of the complainant’s employment took place after she informed the respondent of her pregnancy.”

In another decision upheld by the tribunal, a Filipino woman, Nikols Karen Coloma was awarded €12,697 after the tribunal found she had suffered discrimination at the hands of Hibernia Computer Services Ltd.

She claimed an offer of employment was withdrawn after she discovered she was pregnant.

In another case, a Lithuanian man, Ricardas Jasaitas, was awarded €9,000 after the tribunal found he had been discriminated against on race grounds by Patrick Brock and Sons Ltd.

The tribunal heard claims Mr Jasaitas, a general operative, was told by the site foreman: “Tomorrow will be your last day as we want to keep work for the Irish.”

Another Lithuanian man, Deividas Vaiciulis, was awarded €1,000 on similar grounds after taking a case against Securezone Manhour Ltd.

One equal status decision saw a woman awarded €3,000 after the tribunal found her son, who is from the Travelling community and also has ADHD, had not been granted “reasonable accommodation” at a post-primary school he had attended.

The tribunal heard he attended the school on only 61 days out of 330 days during his two years at the school, and the equality officer also ruled the school put in place a system to facilitate the timely compliance with its statutory obligations under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000.