A WRC adjudication officer found that the Health Service Executive discriminated against Claire Barnes on age grounds and awarded her €1,000. The decision was dated 17 October 2023.
Barnes said she was the only person in her section denied the Special Pandemic Recognition Award, despite working in person during the pandemic, and that she was younger than her colleagues. The HSE said eligibility depended on the risks faced by frontline health workers and disputed that her appeal had been treated differently.
The officer found Barnes had established facts from which discrimination could be inferred. The HSE did not show that discrimination played no part in the original decision or the appeal. The complaint was found well founded and the officer awarded €1,000 compensation, equivalent to the recognition award.