Courts / Ireland / Report

School discriminated against father by keeping his photo for 'child protection' - but not that of child's mother

Summary

In a 2023 decision by the Workplace Relations Commission, a divorced father was found to have faced sexist discrimination when a school kept a photo of him for "child protection" purposes but did not do the same for his son's mother. The tribunal confirmed the school had validly enrolled the child without the father's consent, citing a signed enrolment form and no court order to the contrary. However, the father was denied a photo and key information on his son's file, which the school had redacted. The adjudicator ruled that the father was treated less favourably on the basis of gender, awarded €2,000 for the discrimination, and ordered the school to provide him with all relevant information about his son. The case highlighted the school's practice of accepting enrolment from one parent and the lack of evidence that the mother was required to provide a photo.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: School discriminated against father by keeping his photo for 'child protection' - but not that of child's mother. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• January 2021 Other
• 2023-03-02 Publication

Why: However, it found the father had been discriminated against on the grounds of gender because there was no evidence the school had asked his son's mother for her photo, and because certain records on his son's file were not disclosed to him. CNI source report

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report