O'Callaghan Hotels fined €315,000 for unfair dismissal of pregnant employee

O'Callaghan Hotels has been ordered to pay over €315,000 to a former employee after the Equality Tribunal ruled she was discriminated against and victimised by her employer while pregnant.

Julie O’Brien, who worked as a sales and marketing director, claimed she had been put under pressure not to take her full maternity leave after the birth of her first two children.

She said her managing director told her it would be better for her to take redundancy rather than fall pregnant again.

When Ms O'Brien became pregnant again, she claimed she was called into 11 meetings over a 12-day period and pressured into signing an agreement to leave the company.

The Tribunal found that Ms O'Brien was ultimately unfairly dismissed by the company during her maternity leave following the stillbirth of her third child.

Ms O'Brien did not attach blame to the hotel group for her child's death.