The Workplace Relations Commission found that Regina Dolan Shortt’s three complaints against the Health Service Executive were not well founded. The WRC dated its decision 4 April 2022.
Shortt, a medical scientist at Sligo University Hospital, said the HSE repeatedly postponed or declined her requests to take parental leave in hours and alleged discrimination on family-status grounds. The HSE said approval of leave in hours depended on employer agreement and that staffing shortages and patient-service needs prevented it from granting the requests.
The adjudication officer accepted evidence of recruitment difficulties in Shortt’s specialist grade and the need to balance staffing with safe patient services. The officer found no breach of the Parental Leave Acts and said Shortt retained parental leave quota that she could apply to take in specified blocks. The officer also found she had not established discrimination on family-status grounds.