Council worker wins €45k for pregnancy-related dismissal

A Donegal County Council employee who had temporary contracts renewed year after year only to be left out of work after telling her bosses she was pregnant has won €45,000 for her discriminatory dismissal nearly five years ago.

In a decision out today, the Workplace Relations Commission awarded Fionnuala Bonner the sum on foot of her complaints under the Employment Equality Act and the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003.

Ms Bonner had been hired as a supervisor in the council’s environmental division to carry out water safety monitoring on initial temporary contracts for nine months in 2015 and, after a five-week gap, a further ten months in 2016, the WRC heard. Seven weeks after her second contract ended in January 2017 she was hired for a water project officer role, a post extended in January 2019 past its original 24 months.

The council, which was represented by Keith Irvine of the Local Government Management Association (LGMA), said Ms Bonner’s post had been contingent on EU funding. This was disputed by Ms Bonner’s barrister, Patricia McCallum BL, who appeared instructed by Etain Boyce of Boyce Kelly Solicitors, who said her client thought her role was secure and never thought it was either contingent on funding or only for a fixed period.

In February 2019, Ms Bonner told her employer that she was pregnant.

“After that, the attitude of the respondent changed, and reference to her role continuing ceased. The complainant was no longer given work and instead was asked to train other staff,” Ms McCallum submitted.

In April that year, she submitted, her client was told for the first time that her job would conclude at the end of the following month.

Mr Irvine argued that Ms Bonner was “at no time” offered a permanent post, as these “can only be filled through public competition” and that the original contract had included objective grounds for termination based on temporary funding.

The tribunal was told that Ms Bonner lodged an initial complaint against the county council in July 2019. Ms McCallum submitted that her client was “requested to refrain from making a complaint” towards the end of that month and that a permanent job was going to be created.

“If she withdrew her complaint she would be offered that permanent role. The role was advertised, and the complainant competed for the role, but was not offered the role,” Ms McCallum submitted.

No response from the council on this allegation was recorded in two separate written decisions addressing different aspects of the dispute earlier this month, and adjudicator Brian Dalton, who heard the case, made no findings on it.

In his decision, Mr Dalton concluded that Ms Bonner “made out a strong case that a significant part of her role continued” and that her job had been more than the designated project backed by EU funding.

Ms Bonner had built up more than four years’ service on the succession of fixed-term contracts, she had by law acquired a contract of indefinite duration and was a permanent employee when she gave notice of pregnancy, Mr Dalton wrote.

He added that he had to conclude there was an inference of discrimination in the fact that every time that Ms Bonner’s contract had run out, she was re-employed or got a renewal – except when she was pregnant.

Mr Dalton concluded that Ms Bonner had been subject to a pregnancy-related dismissal and awarded her €45,000 in compensation for gender discrimination.

He made no award for penalisation under the Protection of Employees Act, concluding that this would amount to “double compensation” for the same facts.