Orla Howe alleges maternity discrimination in WRC claim

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

Solicitor Orla Howe’s maternity discrimination complaint was pending before the Workplace Relations Commission. The proceedings were reported on 4 May 2023.

Howe alleged that her former firm, Healy Crowley Ahern, dismissed her through a sham redundancy because she was about to take maternity leave. The firm denied the claim, describing the redundancy as genuine and citing reduced conveyancing work and financial difficulties.

At the hearing, Howe confirmed she had danced at a Galway wedding on 20 August 2021. In an email to her employer on 17 August 2021, she had said her anxiety about attending the office was heightened by her high-risk pregnancy.

Howe said Covid-19 guidelines were observed at the wedding, which she estimated had around 50 guests, and that she was not mixing and mingling. She said the firm’s offices had little ventilation, painted-shut windows and no screening.

Adjudicating officer Marie Flynn was considering her decision, which was to be issued in writing to the parties before being made public.