Software firm ordered to pay €46k to manager who was sacked during sick leave
A software firm which sacked an Office Manager with an incurable degenerative disease while she was on sick leave has been ordered to pay her €46,000 in compensation.
In the case at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), Core Computer Consultants Limited - CoreHR has been ordered to pay Natasha Lawson €23,000 after the WRC found that the firm carried out a discriminatory dismissal against the woman.
In his decision, Adjudication Officer at the WRC, Stephen Bonnlander has also ordered the firm to pay Ms Lawson an additional €23,000 for its refusal to make a reasonable accommodation of her disability in the workplace.
Mr Bonnlander stated that the joint award does take cognisance of the hardship Ms Lawson experienced as a result of losing her job and also the overall unreasonableness of the employer’s conduct and in particular, the manner in which it dismissed Ms Lawson by phone.
Mr Bonnlander found that the delay in Ms Lawson’s return to work as a result of a road accident did not give the employer a right to terminate her employment or to withdraw its previous offer of reasonable accommodation in the form of a phased return to work.
In the case, Ms Lawson lives with fibromyalgia, an incurable degenerative disease and disorder characterised by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep and memory issues.
Ms Lawson was with the firm since 2015 and in May of last year, Ms Lawson went on sick leave after being medically certified as being unfit for work and remained off work until November 2017 when she was dismissed during a company conference call.
During her time on sick leave, Ms Lawson - who described herself as an advocate for those living with fibromyalgia - spent three weeks under the care of Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services in Dublin.
The hospice’s occupational therapist recommended a number of accommodations for Ms Lawson to CoreHR such as flexible work schedules, a temporary reduction in working hours, regular short breaks and working from home.
CoreHR's occupational health expert endorsed the accommodations recommended by the hospice expert and also mentioned a reduction in work hours, but with the caveat that she understood this was “not to be a possibility with business demands”.
Ms Lawson’s paid sick leave expired on June 19, 2017 and she continued to be on unpaid sick leave until her dismissal.
Ms Lawson said that her employer refused the accommodation that she could be able to work from home.
In August 2017, Ms Lawson was in a traffic accident which caused her symptoms to flare up again and in October, she was approved for a spinal implant resulting in her not expecting to return to work until January 5, 2018.
On November 1, Ms Lawson was contacted by work and told over the phone in a conference call that she was dismissed with immediate effect and would be paid one month's pay in lieu of notice.
Ms Lawson said that the reason she was given was her incapacity and “the problems her absenteeism were causing”.
Ms Lawson said that she was not given a right of appeal and was not told that her job was at risk.
Ms Lawson said that she was alone in her apartment when she took the phone call.
She stated that she did not expect this, as all her sick leave was certified.
She stated that her dismissal really “knocked her back”, personally and in terms of her career aspirations and that it also caused her and her husband considerable financial hardship.
In evidence, Ms Lawson said that she was proud to be working in spite of her numerous health problems, and in particular, her fibromyalgia and that she felt that her being in full-time employment showed the world “that sufferers can do things”.
In its defence, CoreHR stated that it could not hold Ms Lawson’s position indefinitely and disputes that it did not offer reasonable accommodation to Ms Lawson.
In his findings, Mr Bonnlander stated that he found Ms Lawson to be an honest and credible witness throughout and accepted her evidence in its entirety.
