€45k over ‘manipulated’ interview

The Equality Tribunal has awarded an accountant €45,000 after it ruled that her employer had manipulated a job interview process to choose a less-qualified candidate.

The finding was made against the Irish division of the international engineering consultancy firm, WYG Engineering, which was put into liquidation last year.

The tribunal found that the firm had manipulated interview notes and a marking system so as to favour a male, part-qualified candidate for the job.

The tribunal heard that management accountant Susan O’Kelly was unsuccessful after being invited to apply for a new post of finance manager following a restructuring of the firm in Jul 2010, despite being a fully qualified accountant who had worked with WYG for nine years.

The job was instead given to a male colleague who had only worked with the firm for four years and who was repeating various accountancy exams because he had failed them on numerous attempts in the past.

The tribunal also heard Ms O’Kelly had been asked allegedly discriminatory questions about her family and children during the job interview.

It said it was satisfied that WYG had discriminated against Ms O’Kelly on grounds of gender, marital status, and family status.

In a separate ruling, the tribunal ordered a Limerick-based company, Irema Ireland, to pay €11,700 compensation to an employee who was the subject of gender discrimination.

Irema, which manufacturers face masks at a plant in Kilmallock, Co Limerick, was found to have discriminated against an employee, Anne Power, over its handling of her complaint that she had been given additional, excessive duties following her return to work from maternity leave.

Irema said it had introduced changes to work practices at the time due to a substantial decline in demand for its products.

However, the tribunal ruled that the company had provided Ms Power with inadequate support.