WRC orders school to pay €85,000 to teacher discriminated against on maternity leave

The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that teacher, Emily Williams, has been discriminated against on grounds of family status by the board of management of St Tola’s National School, Delvin, Co Westmeath. File picture: iStock

The board of management of a primary school in Westmeath has been ordered to pay €85,000 compensation to a teacher who was discriminated against while on maternity leave with “entirely inappropriate” remarks made by its principal during a job interview.

The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that teacher, Emily Williams, has been discriminated against on grounds of family status by the board of management of St Tola’s National School, Delvin, Co Westmeath. The WRC found that the board of management had breached the Employment Equality Act 1998 over its treatment of Ms Williams in relation to a series of appointments at the school last year.

It concluded that the school’s principal, Eileen Smyth, had made “entirely inappropriate” remarks to the teacher about her family status during an interview process which may have had an adverse impact on the outcome for Ms Williams. It also found that the school had failed to provide any evidence to explain why a candidate with less experience than the teacher had been awarded a fixed-term contract.

The WRC heard that Ms Williams had not been notified or considered for a contract of indefinite duration (CID) at the school during 2024 while she was on maternity leave, despite being eligible for the role. Ms Williams said she only found out about the vacancy when she was talking to her colleague who got the CID role about upcoming fixed-term contract interviews.

The school claimed the other teacher had been appointed because she had scored higher in a previous interview process for a fixed-term contract and was given the role on the basis of order of merit. The WRC also heard that the fixed-term contract post had been given to another colleague who was not on maternity leave at the time and who was less experienced than her.

Ms Williams said she had been congratulated by the school’s principal at the conclusion of an interview for a fixed-term teaching position on June 18, 2024, on the birth of her daughter.

Ms Williams said she found it unprofessional that her maternity leave was discussed in front of the interview panel when Ms Smyth had remarked: “You really should enjoy every moment at home with the baby”.  The teacher, who found out the following day that she had been unsuccessful in her job application, said it also seemed to be a hint at her not receiving the position.

Ms William said a teacher who had only provided ad hoc cover at the school had got the position while she had worked at St Tola’s for two full years.

Ms Smyth told the WRC that her comments were merely expressing good wishes to Ms Williams on the first occasion she had seen her since the birth of her daughter and that they had no bearing on the outcome of the interview.

WRC ruling

WRC adjudication officer, Patricia Owens, said she was satisfied that the teacher had discharged the burden to establish a prima facie case of discrimination.

Ms Owens said the school had claimed that the CID was awarded to the candidate with the highest score from a previous interview in line with its policy. However, Ms Owens said no such policy existed and the school had provided no satisfactory explanation for its decision.

She said it was clear that neither policy nor precedent was relied on in deciding to award a CID which was made outside the lifetime of a panel of candidates from a previous interview process.

Ms Owens noted that Ms Williams’ equal entitlement to be considered for the position had been disregarded “even to the point where the respondent believed she had no right to be informed that there was a viable CID available.” 

In relation to the principal’s remarks during the interview for the fixed-term contract, the WRC adjudicator noted that the independent assessor had not been aware the teacher was on maternity leave before they were made.

Ms Owens said she appreciated that Ms Smyth might have intended to pass on her well wishes to Ms Williams but observed that the interview process had not been completed. More importantly she said the scoring of candidates had not been completed.

The WRC heard that all three members of the interview board had scored the other candidate higher than Ms Williams. However, she said one score for Ms Williams had been reduced but not adequately explained by the board’s chairperson, Fr Seamus Heaney.

The WRC heard that the priest had initially scored Ms Williams two points higher than the successful candidate on “commitment to values, traditions and ethos”, but then amended his score to one point lower.

Ms Owens also observed that Ms Williams had been marked lower on “classroom management and administration” and “awareness of school procedures” than a candidate with “ad hoc” experience.

Awarding Ms Williams compensation of €85,000, the WRC adjudicator said the failure of the schools to provide evidence why a candidate with less experience had got the role was fatal to its defence that it had not discriminated against the teacher.

Ms Owens said the amount of the award must provide “a real deterrent against future infractions”.