The Labour Court awarded Doreen Nolan €20,000 after upholding her age discrimination complaint against ALSAA, while overturning the earlier finding of gender discrimination. The Court’s determination was dated 25 November 2022.
Nolan worked as a receptionist for ALSAA until her second fixed-term contract ended on 27 June 2020. The Court found she had no contractual retirement age and that ALSAA dismissed her because of her age. It said the staff handbook did not make retirement at 65 compulsory, and ALSAA had not shown that such a term was part of her contract.
Nolan also said her hourly pay was reduced from €17.45 to €13 while a male colleague kept his full pay after turning 65. The Court found that a female colleague had also kept her full pay after turning 65, so the comparison with the male colleague did not establish gender discrimination. It overturned the earlier finding on that complaint. The €20,000 age discrimination award took account of €7,000 in gross earnings lost in Nolan’s final year and her lost opportunity to continue working.