A DUBLIN COFFEE house and pub boss, criticised by a State workplace watchdog for referring to some of his female employees as “girls”, has been ordered to pay €35,000 for discriminating against a former social media manager over her pregnancy.

At the Labour Court, Martin McCaffrey’s Brazilian Coffee House Ltd, trading as Dash Container Café at the Hole in the Wall in Dublin 7, was ordered to pay €35,000 to its former brand and digital marketing manager Emma Hughes for discriminating against her on grounds of her gender relating to her pregnancy and maternity leave status.

Hughes claimed that the firm’s discriminatory treatment of her led her to resign from her post in June 2023.

In the court’s findings, deputy chairwoman Katie Connolly stated that the court found that McCaffrey’s “reference to Ms Hughes and other female employees as ‘girls’ displayed a generally patronising attitude towards female employees”.

Connolly stated that the court found that on the balance of probabilities Hughes was subject to less favourable treatment on the grounds of her gender after she informed McCaffrey of her pregnancy on 2 August 2022.

Hughes had begun working at the firm on 4 April 2022 and the court found that the less favourable treatment was part of a continuum or chain of discriminatory acts linked to Hughes’s pregnancy and maternity leave status.

Connolly stated that the court accepted Hughes’s contention that McCaffrey appeared not to be happy about her being pregnant from the outset.

McCaffrey (62) also operates the Hole in the Wall pub beside the Phoenix Park along with several coffee shops in various locations around Dublin.

In all, McCaffrey employs 60 staff across three strands of the business – a public house, coffee shops and whiskey and gin production and sales.

In her evidence, Hughes stated that McCaffrey regularly contacted her outside of her working hours when she was pregnant.

She said that the messages were often unclear and confusing, and some were sent as late as 2.07am, and Hughes felt that she never had a break.

Connolly stated that the court found McCaffrey’s “evidence on significant matters to be vague, evasive and inconsistent at times”.

She stated that the court accepts Hughes’s undisputed evidence that McCaffrey shouted at her on several occasions.

In evidence, Hughes said that on two occasions, when she tried to engage in a conversation between a colleague and McCaffrey about DASH issues, he shouted at her, “I am not talking to you.”

McCaffrey told the hearing that he had no recollection of ever shouting at Hughes.

Connolly found that McCaffrey’s failure to put plans in place for maternity leave cover and his request that Hughes work during her absence on maternity leave “demonstrates a dismissive attitude towards the Complainant and the inconvenience he regarded her pregnancy to be”.

The case was before the Labour Court on appeal by McCaffrey’s firm after the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) made a discrimination award of €35,000 to Hughes in December 2024. The employer was unable to attend the WRC hearing due to a family bereavement.

The firm denied discrimination and in evidence, McCaffrey agreed that he sent text messages to Hughes outside of her normal hours, as he often worked until 3am.

McCaffrey accepted that he asked Hughes to work during her maternity leave; his expectation was that might involve a phone call, if needed

McCaffrey said that when Hughes told him that she was pregnant, things continued as normal.

Under cross-examination, McCaffrey disagreed that he had a problem with Hughes taking annual leave after she advised him that she was pregnant.

McCaffrey said that he did not ask Hughes to withdraw her resignation. That was an oversight. It was a difficult period. He had a lot of personal issues at the time.

Hughes did not return to work after her maternity leave and says that the discriminatory treatment led to her resigning on 28 June 2023.