The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has thrown out multiple employment rights claims by a worker at a community probation service because she turned up half an hour late for her hearing before an adjudication officer last month.
Maureen McHugh filed complaints against her employer, the Tallaght Probation Project, trading as Deonach, alleging breaches of the Employment Equality Act 1998, the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.
Ms McHugh earned €2,400 a month for a 19-hour week as a tutor with the west Dublin charity, which operates probation courses for young offenders and adults funded by the State.
Her complaints were received by the WRC in January and February 2025 and were listed for hearing at 9.30am on Wednesday, April 30th last at Lansdowne House in Dublin 4.
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In decision documents published on Thursday by the WRC, adjudication officer Breiffni O’Neill wrote: “[Ms McHugh] did not attend at the appointed time of 9.30am to give evidence in relation to her complaints.”
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“She telephoned the WRC’s reception desk at 9.30am to explain that she was delayed by 10 minutes due to traffic. I therefore waited until 9.50am, and as she was still not in attendance at that time, I proceeded with the hearing,” he added.
He noted that the employer’s representative and two witnesses were present, but as Ms McHugh “was not present to give evidence”, the hearing concluded without any evidence being taken.
Ms McHugh arrived to the tribunal building at 10am, Mr O’Neill added.
“I explained to her that as she had not arrived at the appointed time of 9.30am and within a reasonable period afterwards, I had proceeded to hear the matter and it had concluded,” Mr O’Neill added.
Mr O’Neill rejected Ms McHugh’s complaints as “not well founded” on the basis that she “did not attend the hearing to give evidence” or that she had failed to raise an inference of discrimination by failing to present evidence.
