The Labour Court rejected an appeal by Mary Brady and Fionnula McGivern, finding that Irish Life & Permanent Plc did not discriminate against female part-time employees in its share allocation scheme. The determination was signed on 7 March 2005.
The complainants argued that allocating shares in proportion to hours worked disadvantaged part-time staff, who were all women, compared with full-time employees, most of whom were men. The respondents — T.S.B. ESOP Trustees Ltd., Irish Life & Permanent Plc, and Mandate, ATGWU & SIPTU — said the allocation reflected hours worked and the contributions made under the plan.
Under the scheme, employees contracted for at least 35 hours a week received equal allocations; those contracted for fewer hours received a pro-rata allocation based on hours over the preceding 12 months. The Court accepted that the shares counted as remuneration, but found that allocating them on this basis did not amount to unfavourable treatment. It disallowed the appeal and upheld the Equality Officer’s decision.