A care service manager has failed in her claim for disability-related harassment against her former employer after accusing a colleague of mocking the condition of her arthritic hands.
Tara O'Flaherty had claimed in testimony to the Workplace Relations Commission last year that Kristian Doyle, a former co-worker of hers at Mid West Healthcare Ltd trading as Kare Plus Mid West, had "contorted" his fingers during a meeting.
Her complaint under the Employment Equality Act 1998 has been rejected by the tribunal.
Ms O'Flaherty, a care manager earning €45,000 prior to her resignation, had alleged she was subjected to bullying and harassment in connection with her disability - and a "hostile and humiliating environment" at work. Discrimination had been denied by the company.
The tribunal was told Ms O'Flaherty suffered rheumatoid arthritis which caused a pronounced subluxation of her hands - her solicitor saying that it was plain to see from conversational distance.
At a hearing in January 2025, Daniel McNamara BL, appearing for Ms O’Flaherty, put it to Mr Doyle that on 22 August 2023, Ms O’Flaherty had sought a different laptop because her work device was having some "technical difficulties" connecting to a projector.
He said his client's evidence had been that "upon requesting the laptop, that you began to wave your hands around, that you were laughing, and that you mimicked the deformity of subluxation in her hands due to arthritis".
"Absolutely not," Mr Doyle said. "I was not reared to be that type of person. I’ve never ever done this," he said.
Nicola Murphy of human resources consultancy Peninsula, which appeared for the company, had put it to him there was an allegation that he "contorted his hands in an attempt to mimic the complainant’s disability in front of colleagues".
He called it "absolutely false".
Mr Doyle was also questioned on two other alleged incidents of discriminatory harassment, which the adjudicator Louise Boyle noted were time-barred but relevant as background to the complaint.
Mr McNamara put it to the witness that in July 2023, there had been a mannequins and a box of "fake body parts" present in the workplace for the purpose of training or demonstration of a bed hoist system.
"It was the complainant’s evidence… that you rummaged through the boxes, you found appendages from the mannequins and threw them at the complainant and said words to the effect: "You could do with a bit of that.’ Do you recall that?" Mr McNamara asked.
"I recall Tara saying that, yes," Mr Doyle said.
"Do you recall that happening, Mr Doyle, would you like to comment?" Mr McNamara said.
"Absolutely not. Never occurred," he said.
Notes of a meeting by Mr Doyle with Ms O’Flaherty on 27 July 2023 were opened to the hearing by Ms Murphy. She said they recorded that Mr Doyle had asked Ms O’Flaherty to "refrain from calling children with a disability 'Chuckies' and told her that it was "degrading to the child" on this occasion.
Mr McNamara said that was denied by his client. "Irrespective of that, it has absolutely no bearing on the proceedings," he said while cross-examining Mr Doyle.
In a closing submission, Mr McNamara, who was instructed by Natalia Lenart of Houlihan Solicitors in the matter, said his client’s disability was "clearly visible from conversational distance", as her arthritis had caused pronounced subluxation in her hands.
Ms Murphy said the company was never formally on notice of any disability during Ms O'Flahertys employment and never asked to provide workplace accommodations specific to the disability.
"The only evidence is the complainant's testimony, which is categorically denied by Mr Doyle’s testimony," she said, arguing Ms O’Flaherty had "failed to meet the standard of proof" to make out a claim for disability discrimination.
In her decision, adjudicator Louise Boyle wrote that both Ms O’Flaherty and Mr Doyle, had given evidence which "appeared evasive".
The testimony from both, "at times… lacked the detail that might have been expected, which brings into question the credibility of some of the evidence of both witnesses", Ms Boyle wrote.
"Both the complainant and Mr Doyle had worked together previously, and while there appeared to have been, certainly at the start of the working relationship with [Kare Plus Midwest], a good professional relationship, it would appear that for whatever reason this deteriorated," she wrote.
Ms Boyle concluded that Ms O'Flaherty had failed to establish an inference of discrimination that would shift the burden of proof to her former employer.
"The complainant was not discriminated against, was not harassed and there was no failure to provide reasonable accommodation on the grounds of disability and the claim is therefore, not well founded," she wrote.
