Woman loses dismissal case against restaurant

A woman who claimed she was sacked from her job in a top Dublin restaurant because she was pregnant has lost her case at the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

Aisling Neidhard, an office worker in Thornton’s Restaurant on St Stephen’s Green, told the tribunal Muriel Thornton asked her during an interview for the job if, as a newlywed, she planned to have children soon.

The tribunal found, on balance, it was not inclined to accept that Mrs Thornton made the alleged inappropriate inquiry. It also did not accept that Ms Neidhard’s dismissal had come about wholly or mainly because she was pregnant.

The tribunal heard that Ms Neidhard was taken on in September 2013. In its determination it said the restaurant was “struggling to survive in a difficult market” in early 2014 and a number of cost-saving measures were introduced. Eventually Mrs Thornton, who owns the restaurant along with her husband, chef Kevin Thornton, had to look at letting staff go.