A prominent hospitality group based on the northside of Dublin has been instructed to pay €17,000 in compensation to a former assistant manager who was made redundant shortly after disclosing her pregnancy to her manager, reports Breaking News.
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) determined that McHugh’s Restaurants discriminated against Karen Condell based on her gender when terminating her employment at McHugh’s restaurant in Portmarnock.
The commission found the company had violated the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 in the way it handled her dismissal.
The business, which also runs McHugh’s in Raheny and the Blackbanks bar and grill in Kilbarrack, is part of a wider group operating several off-licences and Centra convenience stores, reports Breaking News.
Ms Condell alleged that the redundancy reason given for her dismissal was not genuine.
She told the WRC that she notified her employer of her pregnancy in June 2024.
Ms Condell said she was later informed by Paul Foley, the group’s hospitality manager, at the end of July 2024 that the Portmarnock restaurant would be closing. However, she was reassured that redeployment options would be looked into, reports Breaking News.
She testified that no alternative position was offered to her during the time she worked out her notice period.
The company stated it had decided to shut the Portmarnock branch on July 30th, 2024.
Mr Foley told the commission that efforts were made to secure other positions for impacted employees, reports Breaking News.
He said that staff with more than one year of service were later offered alternative roles within the group, and only one employee with less than 12 months of service — a chef — was redeployed due to a specific opening suited to that role.
Mr Foley added that he had commented “all our hospitality businesses are worryingly slow” when Ms Condell asked him in August 2024 about other job opportunities, reports Breaking News.
He informed her on August 27th, 2024 that no other roles had been identified.
Mr Foley mentioned he had considered a potential deli position, though he had no control over the group’s grocery arm, and he felt it might not be appropriate given her pregnancy, reports Breaking News.
WRC adjudication officer Breiffni O’Neill said he was convinced there was initial evidence that Ms Condell had been subjected to discrimination, as the restaurant’s owner had failed to find another job for her after the Portmarnock location closed.
Mr O’Neill compared her case to that of many of her colleagues at the same restaurant — who were not pregnant and were offered employment elsewhere within the company.
He noted that the company had not discussed the redundancy with Ms Condell before informing her on July 30th, 2024 that her job was ending, reports Breaking News.
Mr O’Neill added that she had not been given a chance to engage in even a last-minute consultation process about the redundancy prior to her dismissal.
He specifically mentioned that she was never asked about her transferable skills, background, or qualifications.
The adjudication officer also noted that Mr Foley was unable to confirm whether any other roles became available within the group during her notice period that were not offered to other Portmarnock staff, reports Breaking News.
“The respondent did not take sufficient and effective measures to avoid dismissing the complainant on the grounds of redundancy,” said Mr O’Neill.
Directing McHugh’s Restaurants to pay Ms Condell €17,000 — the equivalent of six months’ salary — for the harm caused by the discriminatory dismissal, Mr O’Neill said the penalty should be “effective, dissuasive and proportionate,” reports Breaking News.
He noted that although a larger compensation might have been warranted, the award considered both Ms Condell’s short time with the company and the relatively small size of the business.
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