WRC tells solicitor to pay €21,000 to sacked worker
A north county Dublin-based solicitor has been ordered by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) to pay €21,000 to a former legal secretary who was summarily dismissed just weeks after disclosing her pregnancy.
On 16 August 2024, the complainant submitted a complaint of unfair dismissal under section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977.
WRC adjudication officer Patricia Owens ruled that Ashimedua Okonkwo, practicing as Cyril & Co Solicitors, breached the Employment Equality Act 1998 (EEA) by discriminating against Michele Merrigan on the grounds of gender.
Merrigan, who had worked at the firm for 13 months, told the WRC that the atmosphere changed after she shared her pregnancy news in January 2024.
She testified to feeling "guilty" and stressed by what the WRC described as a "persistent" and "intrusive" focus on her due date and future maternity leave.
On March 14 2024, while Merrigan was working in an adjacent office, she received a termination letter via email. She was given no prior warning, no investigation, and no opportunity to defend herself or appeal the decision.
Okonkwo denied the dismissal was pregnancy-related, instead citing "gross misconduct" due to administrative errors.
Okonkwo stated that she had lost all "trust and confidence" in her employee.
Despite the solicitor’s arguments, the WRC found the defence to be "unsustainable”.
Adjudication officer Owens noted that there was no history of performance issues prior to the pregnancy and that the "basic mistakes" made in the dismissal process were "inexcusable" for a legal professional.
The lack of a formal disciplinary process was deemed fatal to the firm's defence.
The solicitor admitted the termination letter included things "as they came to mind" because she was "overwhelmed", a claim the WRC rejected.
'Unnecessary and inappropriate'
The WRC found the solicitor's repeated questioning about the pregnancy "wholly unnecessary and inappropriate".
"No competent solicitor would have made such basic mistakes," Owens stated in her ruling.
The WRC concluded that the administrative errors were used as a "contrived" excuse to remove Merrigan because her pregnancy had become an "inconvenience" to the legal practice.
Owens decided that the respondent failed to rebut the prima facie case of discrimination on the ground of gender and that the complaint was well founded.
Section 82 of the EEA provides that the maximum amount that may be ordered by way of compensation is two years’ remuneration.
Owens directed the respondent to pay €21,000 to the complainant as compensation for the discrimination.