A former art teacher in an all-Irish secondary school in the Connemara Gaeltacht has been awarded nearly £18,000 for unfair dismissal.
Ms Ger Wilkins, of Furbo, Co Galway, took the case against Colaiste Chroi Mhuire in Spiddal. She said she had been taken on part-time by the school in 1994 to teach art about 12 1/2 hours per week. She had promised the principal, Bean Ui Churraoin, she would brush up on her Irish during her time at the school.
Ms Wilkins said difficulties had arisen when she asked about her entitlement to sick pay and holiday pay and to be given pay slips and a P60.
She said that in June 1997 the principali Churraoin, asked her to sign a fixed-term contract reducing her teaching hours to six hours and 40 minutes. She believed this was a direct result of the stance she had taken about her entitlements.
There was an exchange of letters and phone calls between Ms Wilkins and Bean Ui Churraoin in July and August, during which the teacher was told that if she did not accept the new contract her job would be given to someone else. Finally Ms Wilkins wrote to the principal saying she would not be accepting "half her job" and she presumed the principal's ultimatum meant she had no job to go back to in September.
However, Bean Ui Churraoin said the decision to reduce Ms Wilkins's hours was because of her concern about the art teacher's competence in Irish. She said the teacher had become "casual" about her commitment to improving her Irish.
The Employment Appeals Tribunal said it was not satisfied with her evidence. It said that at no stage had Ms Wilkins's competence in teaching in Irish been brought to her attention on a formal basis. Her competence in Irish was shown by the Leaving Certificate results achieved by her students.
"Accordingly, the tribunal is satisfied that it was intimated to the claimant that, should she pursue her claims regarding holiday pay and other entitlements, there would be difficulty regarding her teaching hours."
The tribunal unanimously decided that Ms Wilkins was unfairly dismissed. It awarded her £17,680 in compensation.