Equality Officer Anne-Marie Lynch found that Eircom discriminated against Bridget Boland on the ground of sex by passing her over for acting higher duties and excluding her from a promotion competition. In a recommendation dated 19 April 2002, she recommended €20,000 compensation and changes to the company’s promotion, appraisal and equality practices.
Boland said junior male colleagues were repeatedly appointed to acting roles instead of her, while Eircom said she was considered unsuitable and cited its sick-leave criteria for excluding her from promotion competitions. Lynch found the company had not provided objective, non-discriminatory reasons for its decisions.