The High Court has dismissed two appeals by Deirdre Morgan against Labour Court determinations concerning employment discrimination and pension complaints against Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB).
In a judgment delivered on 1 June 2022, Mr Justice Cian Ferriter found that Morgan had not shown an error of law in either determination. The appeals were on points of law from decisions the Labour Court made on 9 February 2021, which had dismissed appeals from a Workplace Relations Commission adjudication officer’s decision.
One appeal concerned a complaint under the Employment Equality Act. The Labour Court had considered whether Morgan had identified an instance of discrimination within the relevant period, which ran from 16 November 2018 to 15 April 2019. It found she had not made out a prima facie case and did not decide whether she had legal standing to bring the complaint. The High Court said the hearing transcript showed that the parties had agreed the Labour Court would address preliminary issues, including whether discrimination occurred within the relevant period. It found no error of law.
The second appeal concerned a complaint under the Pensions Act. The Labour Court had found that Morgan received the ill-health retirement pension for which she applied and had not identified a breach of the Act. Her complaint concerned access to an injury gratuity. The High Court found the Labour Court’s conclusion—that she did not meet the requirements for that gratuity—was unimpeachable as a matter of law.
Morgan also argued that she had not been allowed to make submissions at the remote Labour Court hearing. Justice Ferriter said the hearing transcript showed that she had a fair opportunity to present her submissions. He noted that KWETB’s affidavit evidence about the hearing was not challenged.
The High Court dismissed both appeals. It did not make a new determination of the underlying employment complaint; on the employment appeal, it addressed whether the Labour Court had erred in law in its preliminary determination.