Labour Court dismisses Colette Cole’s discrimination appeal

The Labour Court dismissed Colette Cole’s appeal against the rejection of her discrimination claims against the Department Of Justice, Equality & Law Reform. Its determination, signed on 30 May 2005, affirmed the Equality Tribunal’s decision. Cole resigned from the Civil Service in 1976 after the Department refused unpaid leave to care for her child. When she returned in 2001, her earlier service counted for some purposes but not for seniority. She argued that this disadvantaged her on gender, marital-status, family-status and age grounds. The Court found the disadvantage arose from her resignation before the relevant equality legislation took effect, and found no causal connection between her age and the matters complained of.