The Workplace Relations Commission ordered Regional Foods Ltd, which operates Simpsons Supermarket, to pay retail assistant Caroline Ahearne €30,000 after finding that the employer failed to adequately address her sexual harassment complaint. The decision was dated 20 August 2024.
Ahearne said a male colleague sexually harassed and assaulted her over an extended period and that the employer did not investigate or stop it. The employer disputed the allegations and said she had wanted the matter handled informally. The adjudicator found that lifts or adult jokes did not imply consent to physical contact, and that the employer should have investigated the colleague’s threats and acted on Ahearne’s request for a formal investigation.
The adjudicator found that the employer’s failure to address the complaint amounted to gender discrimination and that Ahearne was victimised through the colleague’s threats. Victimisation means adverse treatment for bringing a complaint. The WRC awarded €30,000 in compensation.