Accounts assistant dismissed after announcing pregnancy

An accounts assistant who was dismissed from her job days after informing a company she was pregnant, has been awarded €52,000 after the Equality Tribunal found that her dismissal amounted to discrimination on the grounds of gender.

Lorraine Byrne had been working for Dewar Estates Ltd (in liquidation) in March 2013. Shesaid in June 2013, she was given a pay rise and the pay review document ranked her as “excellent” in five categories and described the firm as “very happy” with her performance.

On August 16, 2013, an issue arose over an invoice issued to one of the respondent’s clients. Ms Byrne gave evidence she felt uncomfortable about issuing the invoice as the returns were not complete.

She said the managing director, Michael Donovan, insisted that the invoice be sent out immediately. Three days later, he queried the amount of the labour charge in the invoice and it was re-issued by a credit note. When the client rang to query the credit note the issue was addressed within 30 minutes and there was no follow-up or issue arising from this incident.

Two days later, Ms Byrne told Mr Donovan she was going on pre-arranged annual leave and would be attending an ante natal appointment on her return.

On August 26, Ms Byrne said she was summoned to a meeting with Mr Donovan. She said he told her she would have to be let go on the basis of the invoice. She said the meeting only lasted five minutes and she was walked off the premises.

The company did not attend the tribunal hearing and neither the company nor the appointed liquidator made submissions to it.

Equality officer Kevin Baneham said he noted Ms Byrne’s successful pay review and her uncontradicted evidence that the need to re-issue an invoice arose out of the insistence of Mr Donovan that the first be issued.

“I also note the absence of a paper trail regarding the supposed problematic nature of this event; this contrasts with the documentary support surrounding the pay review and her ‘very good’ and ‘excellent’ performance at work,” he said .

“These facts undermine the credibility of the reason given by the respondent in the email to justify the dismissal. The other event that occurred in or around this time is the complainant’s announcement of her pregnancy. Given the lack of any credibility around the reasons given by the respondent to justify the dismissal, it follows that the dismissal amounts to direct discrimination on the grounds of gender.”