Student awarded €9,000 over school ear piercing discrimination

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

An unnamed student was awarded €9,000 by the Workplace Relations Commission after it found that a school’s ear piercing policy indirectly discriminated on grounds of sex, in a decision reported on 12 June 2025.

The WRC found the policy favoured female students because it required earrings in both ears, and ordered the school to change the rule.

It also found the student had been subjected to disproportionate sanctions after complaining about what the adjudicator considered discriminatory treatment.

The Commission ordered €9,000 compensation, to be paid to the student’s mother and held on the student’s behalf until adulthood, with possible use for education before then.