The Labour Court overturned a €15,000 disability discrimination award against Iarnrod Eireann and set aside an order returning Michael Flanagan to the company payroll for six months. The determination was signed on 6 June 2017.
Flanagan, represented by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, argued that the company failed to accommodate him or find suitable alternative work, and treated other employees more favourably. Iarnrod Eireann said it had searched for a suitable non-safety-critical role but could not find one.
The Court accepted evidence that Flanagan could not perform safety-critical work and found the company had made a genuine effort to find him alternative employment. It also found that he had not established less favourable treatment compared with the employees he cited. The Court found no discrimination on the grounds claimed, upheld Iarnrod Eireann’s appeal and set aside the Adjudication Officer’s decision.