Dental nurse’s discrimination and victimisation claims against North City Dental fail

A Workplace Relations Commission adjudication officer found that a dental nurse was not discriminated against on gender grounds or victimised after a dispute over her return to work following maternity leave. The decision was dated 22 July 2024. The complainant, Ms Danielle Dennis, said she expected to resume a temporary reduced-hours arrangement after her second maternity leave. North City Dental Properties Ltd T/A North City Dental said it was arranging a roster within her contractual terms. The officer found that the reduced-hours arrangement had been temporary, lasting six months, and had not become a term of Ms Dennis’s contract. The practice’s request for documents about antenatal appointments was also not discriminatory. The officer found Ms Dennis had not established facts from which gender discrimination could be inferred. The victimisation claim also failed because the officer found that Ms Dennis had not taken a protected act under equality law. Both claims were found not well-founded.