School ordered to change earring rule after WRC awards student €9,000

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

A Workplace Relations Commission adjudicator found that a school’s rule requiring ear studs to be worn in pairs was indirectly discriminatory on gender grounds and ordered the school to change it. The 16-year-old student who brought the claim was awarded €9,000 for discrimination and victimisation.

The adjudicator said sanctions imposed after the student objected to the rule arose solely from his objection to an unfair practice, and therefore amounted to victimisation. The school had denied the claim.

The student had worn a single stud in his left ear. The school’s code allowed one small stud in each ear, and the dispute was heard by the WRC under the Equal Status Act 2000.