The Workplace Relations Commission found that G. Bruss Gmbh Dichtungstechnik indirectly discriminated against Kamila Pietrzyk on the disability ground and ordered it to pay her €10,000 compensation. In a decision dated 13 January 2023, the WRC found the company’s mandatory face-covering rule was disproportionate as applied to her because her disability prevented her wearing a face covering.
Pietrzyk worked as a production operator at the Sligo manufacturer, which had more than 200 staff. The company required face coverings in communal areas and when moving to and from workstations during the Covid-19 pandemic. It said the policy reflected workplace safety obligations and its risk assessment.
Pietrzyk said her disability prevented her wearing a face covering and proposed changes to shifts and movements at work to reduce contact. The adjudicator found those measures could have reduced potential close contact, but the company insisted she not attend work. The adjudicator found the reasonable-accommodation provisions did not apply on these facts; the award was based on indirect discrimination.
The WRC said the €10,000 award reflected the effects of the discrimination, including the loss of workplace income and Pietrzyk having to take another job with fewer benefits. It also considered that the company had acted in good faith in pursuing its safety policy.