Eir ordered to reinstate Thomas Doolin after age discrimination finding

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Workplace Relations Commission ordered Eir to reinstate Thomas Doolin after an adjudicator found that he had established a prima facie case of age discrimination when he was dismissed on grounds of age. The proceedings were reported on 15 January 2024.

Doolin had worked as a desktop support agent from September 2019 until Eir mandatorily retired him on his 65th birthday, 1 July 2023. He had formally requested to work beyond 65 on 8 February 2023. His internal appeal against the retirement decision was refused on 14 April 2023.

Adjudicator Breiffni O’Neill found that refusing to allow Doolin to work beyond 65 was not objectively justified on the grounds in the company’s retirement policy, given his role. The adjudicator considered the company’s succession planning and age-balance arguments, and found that its health and safety concerns about field-based roles were irrelevant to Doolin’s exclusively office and desk-based job.

The order directed Eir to restore Doolin to his previous job effective from his imposed retirement date. There was no compensation award, but the order entitled him to salary for the time he was out of work between 1 July and 30 November 2023. The report said the decision could be appealed to the Labour Court.

This case may have concluded differently. The outcome has not yet been confirmed by a public source we could find.