The Labour Court upheld a finding that Arzac Developments Limited discriminated against Deborah Costello because she was pregnant, affirming €7,000 in compensation. The determination, signed on 26 July 2004, dismissed the company’s appeal.
Costello had applied for a management role at the company’s Pamela Scott fashion shop. Her second interview was cancelled after she told an employment agency she was pregnant. The company said the cancellation was due to a director’s urgent trip to Waterford and that a later restructuring removed the role.
The Court preferred Costello’s evidence that she had been told the company could not employ a pregnant woman in a management position. It found she was denied the interview because of her pregnancy and that the company had not proved there was no discrimination.