Margaret Dunne awarded €12,000 for age discrimination by GP

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

Margaret Dunne was awarded €12,000 for age discrimination by the Workplace Relations Commission. The proceedings were reported on 25 July 2024; the hearing took place in April 2024.

Ms Dunne said she had been replaced by two younger receptionists while on medical leave. Adjudicator Marguerite Buckley found that Dr Declan Scanlon had discriminated against her on age grounds and said he had effectively ignored her return to work after initial contact.

Ms Buckley said a medical assessment before Ms Dunne returned may have had a legitimate objective. She found the lack of communication unexplained, apart from any inference she could draw from Dr Scanlon’s subsequent ill health and the eventual closure of the practice. The €12,000 award was equivalent to six months’ gross salary.

The compensation followed an earlier WRC determination that Ms Dunne was entitled to a redundancy payment of about €40,000 after the Tullamore practice closed. The exact calculation was a matter for the Department of Social Protection and was subject to confirmation of her PRSI contributions.