Oksana had worked as an office administrator in Galway for three years. She was a reliable employee, arriving on time and doing her job well. When she became pregnant, she took maternity leave as she was entitled to do. Everything seemed fine—her employer was pleasant at the handover meeting, and there were no warnings about changes ahead.
Two weeks after she returned to work, Oksana was called into her manager's office. She was told her role had been made redundant while she was on leave. There was no consultation, no warning, and no attempt to find her another position. She was simply let go. The timing felt suspicious to Oksana, but she didn't know if there was anything she could do about it legally.
When Oksana consulted with a solicitor about her dismissal, she learned that the law protects workers in her exact situation. Dismissing someone within a short time of them returning from maternity leave is treated very seriously. A tribunal found her dismissal to be automatically unfair—meaning the employer couldn't justify it, no matter what they said. Oksana received compensation for her lost wages and the unfair treatment she had experienced.