The Labour Court overturned a €10,000 disability discrimination award against G. Bruss GmbH Dichtungstechnik, finding that its face-covering policy was proportionate to workplace health and safety needs. In a determination dated 22 August 2023, the Court allowed the employer's appeal and set aside the adjudication officer's decision.
Kamila Pietrzyk said her disability prevented her from wearing a mask and that proposed accommodations were rejected. The employer said the policy was needed to protect staff during the pandemic. It required masks in communal areas and other specified situations, but not at workstations. The Court found that the alternatives proposed would not provide the same protection and that less discriminatory means were not available.