Courts / Ireland / Report
Group behind parenting website EveryMum ordered to pay over maternity discrimination
2023-02-07
Hearing Or Decision
Summary
The publishing group behind the parenting website EveryMum, Zahra Publishing Ltd, was ordered by the Workplace Relations Commission to pay sales executive Sandra Varian €32,500 for maternity‑related discrimination. Varian, who joined the firm on 1 July 2021 as group sales director, informed the CEO on 5 August 2021 that she was 12 weeks pregnant. The company claimed she was dismissed for poor performance, citing a series of meetings and a reduced sales target of €100,000 by 13 December. Varian's solicitor argued that the company's decision to terminate her was linked to her pregnancy, noting that a former colleague had her probation extended despite lower sales. The adjudicating officer, Hugh Lonsdale, found that the employer failed to prove the adverse treatment was unrelated to pregnancy and awarded Varian compensation equivalent to six months' salary.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Group behind parenting website EveryMum ordered to pay over maternity discrimination. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision
When:
- May 8 2021 Other
- 1 July 2021 Incident
- 5 August Incident
- 21 September Other
- 13 December Other
- 5 November 2021 Other
- 16 November Other
- 28 November 2021 Other
- 5 August 2021 Other
- new year Other
- 2023-02-07 Publication
Why: The publisher had denied discrimination, arguing it terminated Ms Varian's contract at the end of her probationary period because she claimed she was failing to meet sales targets. CNI source report
Topics
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