The Labour Court dismissed Ann O’Kane’s age discrimination appeal against the Health Service Executive West, upholding the Equality Officer’s decision that she had not been discriminated against in a Grade VI promotion competition. The Court’s determination was dated 22 February 2008.
O’Kane, a Staff Officer Grade V, argued that her experience in the Births, Deaths and Marriages service, the interview process and age-related remarks supported her claim. The HSE said the Grade VI role had wider responsibilities and that she had not scored as well as other candidates at interview.
The Court found no pattern of marking in favour of younger candidates and noted that a candidate only marginally younger than O’Kane had scored higher. It was not persuaded that remarks about appearance or menopause showed age discrimination. The Court concluded that O’Kane had not established facts from which discrimination could be inferred and upheld the Equality Officer’s decision.