The Labour Court awarded Lorraine O’Sullivan €10,000 after finding that her dismissal by Harco Investments Limited, trading as Wilton Hair and Beauty Salon, was because she was pregnant. The determination was dated 18 November 2003.
O’Sullivan said her timekeeping had improved and her absences were pregnancy-related and medically certified. Harco said it dismissed her for persistent lateness and unreliability. The Court noted that the company had no records showing when or how late she was, and no records of the verbal warnings it said it had given her. It was not satisfied that Harco had proved the dismissal was unrelated to her pregnancy. The complaint under the Employment Equality Act, 1998 was well founded.