The Workplace Relations Commission found that Marbles Creche & Montessori Limited unfairly dismissed Maura Hennessy because of her pregnancy and ordered €4,200 compensation. The decision was dated 9 July 2024.
Hennessy worked as a chef and said she was dismissed while on sick leave for a pregnancy-related medical condition. She had been told that, because she was on probation and had worked only five weeks, she did not need to send further medical certificates.
The creche said it faced financial pressure, had closed three rooms and outsourced food as it scaled down. The adjudicator found the dismissal resulted wholly from pregnancy. Under the law, a dismissal resulting from an employee’s pregnancy is unfair; the WRC ordered compensation of €4,200.