The Labour Court dismissed Aveo Foods Limited’s appeal and awarded Ms Paulina Knapczyk €10,000 in compensation after finding she was discriminatorily dismissed because of her pregnancy. The award was equivalent to 24 weeks’ salary.
In a determination dated 7 September 2022, the Court varied the adjudication officer’s decision, which had also awarded €10,000 and recommended changes to the employee handbook.
Ms Knapczyk worked as a packaging assistant and was dismissed during probation. She said her supervisor asked if she was pregnant in June, and she confirmed that she was. The company said the dismissal followed a hygiene-related incident and disputed knowing she was pregnant before deciding to dismiss her.
The Court accepted Ms Knapczyk’s evidence that her supervisor had asked about the pregnancy and been told she was pregnant. It found pregnancy could reasonably be inferred from the circumstances leading to the dismissal, requiring the company to show it was unrelated. The decision-makers did not give evidence, and the company did not provide written, substantiated reasons for the dismissal. The Court found it had not shown the pregnancy was unrelated.