The Labour Court found that the Health Service Executive had breached Angela Rabbitte’s right to return to appropriate work after maternity leave, setting aside an earlier decision and awarding her €5,000. The determination was signed on 28 June 2016. The Court also ordered the HSE to identify and assign Rabbitte an appropriate grade IV post in the capacity and place where she had worked before her leave.
Rabbitte, who had worked for the HSE since 1992, said she was not restored to her former job or given comparable alternative duties when she returned. The HSE said she came back under the same contract and that it tried to identify suitable work, but argued she had not provided a definitive list of duties she would accept.
The Court found Rabbitte had been doing grade IV work before her leave and was entitled to return to that job. It said assigning appropriate work was the employer’s responsibility. Although the HSE had been willing to accommodate her, it unintentionally failed to assign work of the kind she had done before, leaving her unclear about her duties. The Court found this breached the HSE’s obligations under section 26 of the Maternity Protection Act.