Virgin Media appealed to the Labour Court an award of € 30,000 for discrimination taken by a long-serving schedule planner.
At the Workplace Relations Hearing, the applicant, Sian Shepherd, complained that she had been discriminated against by the media company after deciding that the selection process for the appointment of a scheduling team leader was tainted with discrimination.
Ms Shepard had availed of maternity leave between August 2021 and August 2022 and early in October 2022 the company advertised internally for the position of scheduling team lead. There were four applicants among whom was the plaintiff applicant.
The applicant was unsuccessful in her application. Out of the four applications for the post, Ms Shepherd was a Joint third place.
The Labour Court found that the applicant had failed to establish any facts from which it would be possible for the court to infer that she may have been treated less favourably by the company on grounds of her family status. Commenting on this, the deputy chairman of the court noted that at an earlier hearing of the appeal, Ms Shepherd stated that those who were placed ahead of her in the job application were both parents of young children. It followed then that their family position was the same as Ms. Shepherd.
Ms. Shepherd submitted that she had worked for the company for 15 years, eight of which were years she worked consecutively. She claimed that she had been passed over for promotion that she was led to believe was almost guaranteed to her. She stated that prior to the maternity leave she was the most senior member of the team with the most experience and that she had trained every member of the team including the successful candidate. She claimed that on her return from maternity leave she had been excluded from an important scheduling meeting dealing with the death of Queen Elizabeth 11.
At the WRC hearing, the company contended that the applicant’s complaint of discrimination due to her family status was groundless and misconceived. The company’s decision to appoint another member of the team was based on a robust and transparent recruitment process which took into consideration all the applicants' suitability for the position.
In considering the final choice the successful applicant displayed greater understanding of the company's business needs, strategic knowledge,
other recommendations and a structure of the team going forward.
The appeal was allowed.
Shepherd v Virgin Media The Labour Court 12 December 2024 Ref No. EDA2468
A.C. FORDE & CO. LLP
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