The Labour Court rejected Helen Buckley’s appeal against an Equality Officer decision that her equal pay claim against the HSE had failed. The determination was signed on 9 February 2011.
Buckley, an Assistant Director of Nursing (General) at Naas General Hospital, argued that her salary scale was lower than the scale for Assistant Directors of Nursing in mental health services. She said the roles were like work or work of equal value and that the difference was not objectively justified. The HSE argued that the comparator grade was not predominantly male at the relevant time.
The Court found that the comparator grade was not predominantly male when Buckley brought her claim or in the preceding three years. It said the grades’ earlier gender imbalance when the pay structure was created did not establish that discrimination persisted when she made her complaint. The Court found that Buckley had not established a prima facie case of discrimination, upheld the Equality Officer’s decision and rejected the appeal.