Boss mocked her miscarriage, then fired her 11 days later. His ‘poor performance’ excuse cost $29,000
They thought Joyce was not protected by the Maternity Protection Act anymore.
Words have consequences, and Galway hospitality firm Connacht Hospitality Group learned that the hard way. In October 2023, they fired Norah Joyce, who was a Bar Manager at Fadeside. Their reason? She was "underperforming." Joyce had been working at the bar for less than 11 months. On September 28, she was admitted to A&E. She learned she was pregnant and was experiencing a miscarriage. When she returned to work, her colleagues treated her poorly and used the opportunity to bring her down. On October 9, 2026, Personnel Today reported the final turn her case took as the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) delivered its formal judgement.
'Difficult conversation'
Joyce called Jackie O'Dowd, the group HR manager, to inform her she wouldn't be able to come in to work because of her miscarriage. Joyce alleged that O'Dowd said the miscarriage would "make her want to have a baby even more," although he denied making the remark. Joyce said that she did not plan on getting pregnant, as per The Irish Times. She returned to work in the first week of October, a few days after the miscarriage.
Joyce went to see Wayne Neilon, her line manager. He told her they needed to have a difficult conversation, and proceeded to say she "did not have the core competencies" for the job. He pointed out an alleged incident when she used the wrong glass to serve whiskey. Joyce got emotional and cried, but he told her to "stop it." Joyce said O'Dowd then asked whether she wanted to take some time off following the miscarriage or resign. Just 11 days after the miscarriage, Joyce was dismissed on the stated grounds of underperformance.
Technical legal jargon
Joyce brought an unfair-dismissal complaint against her former employer before Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission. Pat Mullins, who represented Connacht Hospitality Group, tried to get the case dismissed in March 2025. He said, "At the time of the dismissal, the complainant was not, in fact, pregnant, and I say it is a substantial stretch of the interpretation of that part of the Act to state that it includes a previous miscarriage." They thought she was not protected by the Maternity Protection Act anymore. But Ian FitzHarris, Joyce's attorney, countered, "Five days and then they sacked her. The phrase in the legislation is 'pregnancy-related matters.'"
Irish law protects pregnancy-related dismissals
Irish law gives employees special protection from dismissal over pregnancy-related matters. Normally, an employee needs 12 months of continuous service to bring an unfair dismissal claim, but that requirement does not apply when the dismissal is connected to pregnancy, giving birth, or related matters. That was important in Joyce’s case because she had worked for the company for less than 11 months.
Those protections are also reflected in Ireland’s Maternity Protection Act, which safeguards employees against dismissal connected with pregnancy and maternity-related rights. That became central to the dispute because Connacht Hospitality Group argued that Joyce was no longer pregnant when she was dismissed, while her lawyer maintained that a miscarriage still fell within ‘pregnancy-related matters.’
The WRC rejected the ‘poor performance’ explanation
Adjudicator Louise Boyle agreed with FitzHarris, and said, "I find that in all the circumstances it lacks credibility that the complainant’s employment was terminated for poor performance." She added, "I also find her employment was terminated without any expected procedures, the absence of the laws of natural justice including the right of reply, right to have someone present at this dismissal meeting and right to respond." Since the hospitality group could not show the "exceptional circumstances" why they terminated Joyce's employment, they were ordered to pay €25,000 (about $28,000) in compensation for unfair dismissal.
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