As reported by the Herald, a 27-year-old woman, who claimed in court she had been sacked after only six weeks in a new job because she was pregnant, has lost her action for damages under the Employment Equality Act. Judge Matthew Deery, dismissing Kamila Helmrich's claim yesterday, also rejected her allegations in the Circuit Civil Court that records of her timekeeping and a warning letter about it had been falsified by her new boss.
Helmrich, unsuccessfully sued Deli Boutique Limited, which trades as Bijou Deli, for up to €38,000 damages for breach of contract in respect of discriminatory treatment. The judge said company director Linda Smith had disputed what had been claimed by Ms Helmrich who, she said, had maintained a sustained pattern of late timekeeping of anything from 15 minutes up to an hour and a half. Ms Smith told the court she had given Ms Helmrich a number of chances to improve her timekeeping at the company's delicatessen at Highfield Road, Rathgar, Dublin, but to no avail.
Judge Deery said Ms Helmrich had failed to establish she had been dismissed solely on the basis of her pregnancy. Legal costs were granted against Ms Helmrich. The judge said she had suffered no loss and had immediately obtained a new job and was still in employment.
