The Workplace Relations Commission found that Jonathan Cahill had not established discrimination by Cork County Council on family or civil status grounds. Cahill, a divorced father, said the council’s blended-working arrangements and refusal of his request for set home-working days affected his ability to care for his daughter. The council said its policy allowed flexible home-working according to operational needs and applied without reference to family or civil status.
In a decision dated 16 January 2024, the officer found no evidence that Cahill was treated less favourably than a comparator, or that the policy put people with his family or civil status at a particular disadvantage. The officer also found that the council had objectively justified its policy and that Cahill had not shown discriminatory provisions in the relevant collective agreement. The complaint was not well founded.