The Equality Tribunal ordered a nursing home to pay Mrs X €12,500 after finding that it discriminatorily dismissed her because of her disability and failed to provide reasonable accommodation. Equality Officer Enda Murphy dated the decision 8 June 2010.
Mrs X worked part-time as a cleaner. The home said it dismissed her because staff could no longer monitor her and it could not afford additional staff. It accepted there was no genuine redundancy situation. The officer found the home had not told her about the monitoring arrangement or consulted her when concerns arose. It also did not seek medical advice, give her notice that dismissal was under consideration or explore measures that could have helped her remain in the job.
The officer found the home had not established that Mrs X could not do her work without the monitoring arrangement or that this would create a health risk. He concluded that she was dismissed because of her disability and that the home had failed to take a process-based approach before deciding she could not perform her duties. Both complaints succeeded. The €12,500 award was compensation for distress caused by the discriminatory dismissal.