Tallaght coffee shop ordered to pay €15k to barista fired after becoming pregnant

Seán McCárthaigh

A coffee shop in a Dublin shopping centre has been ordered to pay over €15,000 compensation to a barista who was suddenly fired shortly after informing her manager that she was pregnant.

The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that Coffee Creations Limited – the operator of Esquires coffee shop in The Square shopping centre in Tallaght – discriminated against staff member Marina Tanasiev, on grounds of gender.

The WRC heard that Ms Tanasiev, who had worked in the Esquires’ café since February 2023 as a barista and subsequently as a supervisor, informed her manager on December 31st, 2023 that she was pregnant.

Ms Tanasiev gave evidence that her manager told her not to tell anyone and that it would not be good for her.

While she was on holiday in January 2024, Ms Tanasiev said she could see that she was not being rostered on her return.

When she returned from annual leave on January 10th, 2024, Ms Tanasiev said her manager informed her that she was being dismissed as they no longer had hours for her to work.

The complainant said she knew that could not be the reason as the café was busy.

Ms Tanasiev said the manager failed to respond to her request to provide the reason why she was being let go.

She was subsequently told she would be given a reason in writing, but it never materialised.

No representative of Esquires attended the WRC hearing

WRC adjudication officer, David James Murphy, ruled that Ms Tanasiev had been dismissed from her employment because of her pregnancy based on her uncontested evidence.

The WRC heard that the complainant suffered approximately eight weeks unemployment equating to €4,000 in lost wages before getting another job that paid her €163 less per week which amounted to a further loss of €3,260 before she went on maternity leave.

However, Mr Murphy increased the level of compensation awarded to Ms Tanasiev to €15,390 – the equivalent of 30 weeks’ salary.

He said the amount of compensation beyond her direct loss was needed “in order to be dissuasive.”

Ms Tanasiev was also awarded a further €2,052 in compensation for breaches of employment legislation in relation to her contract and terms of employment.