The Workplace Relations Commission ordered Riada Care Ltd T/A Glenashling Nursing Home to pay nurse Tina Mary Lukose €56,160 after finding she was discriminated against on the gender ground when she was not offered permanent employment while pregnant. The decision was dated 26 March 2024.
Lukose’s two-year fixed-term contract began on 4 August 2020. She said the employer did not offer her a permanent role when it expired, although other employees in similar circumstances had received permanent positions. She accepted a further fixed-term contract that ended on 2 October 2022.
The respondent withdrew from the hearing before Lukose gave evidence and presented no direct evidence on the complaint. The adjudicator found that the facts established initial evidence of discrimination and that the respondent had not shown its treatment of Lukose was unrelated to her pregnancy. The award equals 104 weeks’ pay.