A marketing executive at Coca Cola claimed to be “bullied” into taking a demotion from a management job to “nearly a graduate position” when she returned to work after having a baby has won €68,000 for maternity discrimination.

The employee told the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) at a hearing that she thought she was going to return to her old job as premium spirits marketing manager, which she had held since 2018, at the end of maternity leave in January 2024.

She said she suffered an “acute stress reaction” after her colleagues were told the employee brought in to cover her absence would be retained in her former role.

In Ireland, pregnancy discrimination is illegal under the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015. These acts protect pregnant employees from being treated unfairly due to their pregnancy, including in recruitment, promotion, and general conditions of employment. The Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004 also provide specific rights and protections for pregnant workers, including the right to maternity leave and protection from dismissal.

Coca Cola HBC Ireland Ltd was found in breach of the Employment Equality Act 1998 on foot of a complaint. The company had denied that complaint, along with a further complaint under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, which was not upheld by the tribunal.

The employee’s evidence was that she had been absent for one year and 21 days on the day she was to go back to work, January 22^nd 2025, owing to pregnancy-related health issues. It was her second period of maternity leave, she told the WRC.

She said the first she was told that she would not be going back in as premium spirits marketing manager was at the end of a call the Friday before the week she was due back.

In her decision, adjudicator Patricia Owens examined the job descriptions for the former job and the new position.

She noted that the grade and pay were the same for both jobs. However, the old role was described as a “manager” position, reporting to director level, while the new role was described as a “lead” position and did not involve managing a budget.

The “manager” position described responsibilities at a “strategic level” while the new “portfolio” lead had duties that were “very much operational”, she wrote. She concluded that the complainant had been discriminated against on the grounds of gender by not being returned to her former position after maternity leave.

The adjudicator awarded €68,000 in compensation for the breach, just short of a year’s basic salary.

 

NB – This is a guide for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have an issue requiring legal advice, please contact any of the team at Nolan Farrell & Goff LLP, whose numbers can be found on our website www.nfg.ie, or email info@nfg.ie.