The Workplace Relations Commission awarded a marketing manager €68,000 after finding that a drinks retail company discriminated against her when she returned from maternity leave. The decision was dated 4 June 2025.
The adjudication officer found that the proposed Portfolio Department Lead role was a demotion, with a lower reporting line, more operational duties and no equivalent budget. The company had already decided to move the worker into the role without giving her a choice. The company said the change addressed workload and capacity pressures and offered career development at the same grade and salary.
A separate complaint about written notification of changed employment terms was not well founded: the worker received the job description on her first day back, before the change took effect. She withdrew her unfair-dismissal complaint. The officer refused to add family-status discrimination and parental-leave penalisation claims, finding they were new claims raised outside the time limit.