Courts / Ireland / Report

Teacher who accused bosses of 'subconscious bias' wins €20k

Summary

A teacher has received €20,000 in compensation after alleging that her bosses at Farnham National School displayed 'subconscious bias' against her during a deputy principal application following a dispute over parental leave. Paulette Leonard, a primary school teacher with 28 years of service, secured the compensation through a complaint under the Parental Leave Act 1998. Ms Leonard requested six periods of parental leave in September and October 2020, but her application was denied by the school, citing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children's education. However, six periods of leave were later approved between November 2020 and May 2021, but only if Ms Leonard surrendered her statutory leave entitlement for that academic year. The Irish National Teachers' Association (INTO) raised concerns with the school in July 2020, leading to a notice in the staff room requiring parental leave longer than three weeks to be taken as a single block.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Teacher who accused bosses of 'subconscious bias' wins €20k. Procedural stage: trial

When:

• June 2020 Other
• November 2020 Other
• May 2021 Other
• July 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2023-07-17 Publication

Why: In his decision, WRC adjudicator Shay Henry ruled that Ms Leonard was "out of time" to pursue a discrimination claim against the school board because she had submitted her complaints forms too late to bring the alleged incidents into the WRC's jurisdiction. CNI source report

Topics

Stage Trial

Read the original CNI report