The Labour Court allowed Elizabeth Noonan’s appeal against University College Cork and directed the university to align her pay and other employment conditions with those of two full-time Senior Library Assistants. The adjustment must take effect from six months before she presented her complaint to the Rights Commissioner.
In its determination, signed on 26 May 2014, the Court found Ms Noonan’s uncontested evidence showed her work was identical in all material respects to her comparators’ work. The university did not offer evidence on the work performed. It rejected the university’s reliance on grading, public-service agreements, legislation and cost as justification for the pay difference. The Court set aside the Rights Commissioner’s decision.