The Workplace Relations Commission awarded Mandy Hurley €31,000 after finding that her employer discriminated against her on the gender ground when she returned from maternity leave. In a decision dated 25 September 2023, the WRC found that Eazy Connections Ltd. T/A Complete Outsource Solutions obstructed her return to work and made no proper provision for her return to her previous role or suitable alternative work.
Hurley said that after her return, she lost duties and responsibility and was excluded from management meetings. The company said it had grown during her leave, that management roles had changed and that she remained a manager. The adjudication officer found that Hurley had been effectively demoted and sidelined, and that appropriate work was not provided from January 2021 onwards.
The WRC also upheld her complaint under the Maternity Protection Act, finding it was in time. It made no separate payment under that Act because both complaints arose from the same facts. The WRC found the family-status aspect of her equality complaint was not made out because no comparator was identified. The €31,000 award compensates for the effects of discrimination and does not include remuneration.