Pregnant carer awarded €45k for not being allowed work from home during pandemic

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudicator Kevin Baneham said that St John of God Services “in the midst of a pandemic, knowing of her pregnancy and childcare needs, denied her access to work and full pay for no lawful reason when the same facility was afforded to others”. File picture

A care service provider has been ordered to pay a social care worker €45,000 for discriminating against her when not allowing her work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), Adjudicator Kevin Baneham has ordered St John of God Community Services to pay Ann Doherty under the Employment Equality Act for discriminating against her because she was a parent and pregnant at the time.