The Labour Court has upheld a finding that the Health Service Executive (HSE) did not discriminate against medical scientist Paulinas Okafor on racial grounds in a promotion process at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Navan. The decision was dated 25 April 2024.
Okafor said he had been passed over while colleagues were promoted to Chief Medical Scientist roles. He was later offered the Blood Transfusion post, with his appointment and salary backdated to 21 March 2022. He argued that the delay in resolving his appointment amounted to race discrimination. He withdrew his separate gender discrimination complaint at the start of the appeal.
The Court found the delay arose from genuine confusion about how a 2003 agreement applied to Okafor and two colleagues, each of whom had a case relating to appointment or a competition. It found he suffered no detriment from the delay because his appointment and salary were backdated. The Court concluded that he had not established facts supporting an inference that he was treated less favourably because of his race, and upheld the finding that the race complaint was not well founded.