Elena Balan awarded €20,000 after maternity leave dismissal

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

Elena Balan was awarded €20,000 after the Workplace Relations Commission found gender discrimination in her dismissal while on maternity leave; the decision was reported on 10 July 2022.

The Commission also ordered Corajio Unlimited Company, trading as Mr Price, to pay €780 in lieu of notice. It found the dismissal followed a misunderstanding about whether Balan intended to resign, after she raised continuing back pain and a possible delay in returning to work.

The adjudicator said the store manager had acted without receiving written confirmation of a resignation, and criticised the failure to restore Balan’s position after the mistake became clear.