Cork Prison manager awarded €55k after being refused home working during Covid

WRC found that by placing a 'blanket ban' on working from home, the IPS failed to attempt at least to reasonably accommodate the complainant. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) has been ordered to pay €55,000 compensation to a manager at Cork Prison over its failure to allow her to work from home during Covid-19.

At the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), adjudicator Patsy Doyle found IPS higher executive officer Caroline O’Connor — who has a heart condition — was denied "reasonable accommodation" by the IPS under the Employment Equality Act.