A childcare worker in the Hyde and Seek creche pushed a colleague who was holding an infant and threatened to kill her, the Labour Court has been told.
Jade Byrne Hoey, the then 19-year-old who was allegedly assaulted, claimed she was reprimanded over the incident but the 26-year-old woman who pushed her was not.
Ms Byrne Hoey, who is now 21, alleges she was discriminated against because of her age. One month after the alleged incident, Hyde and Seek came to public attention when the company was the subject of an RTÉ Investigates programme, which detailed a series of alleged childcare failings at the facilities.
The case before the Labour Court on Wednesday is dealing with a number of appeals arising from previous Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) hearings relating to Ms Hoey’s employment at the Glasnevin, Dublin branch of the creche. Both parties are appealing aspects of the WRC rulings.
In her evidence on Wednesday morning, Ms Hoey, who no longer works for the company, alleged she was never given a copy of her contract of employment and that Hyde and Seek discriminated against her on the basis of her age. Hyde and Seek denies any wrongdoing.
‘Mumbling’
The alleged discrimination arose from an incident on June 11th, 2019. Ms Hoey told her barrister Jason Murray she was helping to put away chairs in the creche when she noticed a colleague “stacking chairs in an aggressive manner” and “mumbling to herself”.
Ms Hoey said she told the colleague she was frightening the children in the room and should calm down. Ms Hoey was holding a toddler in her arms at the time, who was about 18 months.
She said her colleague came over to her, put her finger in her face and said ‘I’ll kill you. Come outside and I’ll kill you.’ Ms Hoey said the woman then pushed her arm as she was holding the child.
The complainant said she put the child back in his room and continued on with her work. Ms Hoey said that as she was leaving work an hour later, Siobhán Davy, one of the directors of Hyde and Seek, stopped her.
She said Ms Davy told her that if something similar happens in future, she should get a manager and not say anything herself. Ms Davy allegedly told her that the other woman had gone home very upset and that ‘I don’t want anyone going home upset.’
The complainant said this conversation caused her to become upset and left her feeling embarrassed.
Informal warning
Ms Hoey told the court that the next day she was called into a meeting where she was given an “informal warning” in the form of a letter. The letter accused her of failing to follow management direction and engaging in unprofessional behaviour. She said, to her knowledge, the woman who allegedly pushed her had received no reprimand.
Counsel for the creche, Brian Conroy, put it to Ms Hoey that the warning letter did not refer to the incident she described. Instead, he said, it referred to a separate incident involving the creche’s secretary. Ms Hoey denied this.
Mr Conroy also said Ms Davy could not have had a conversation with Ms Hoey on the day of the incident as Ms Hoey had finished work by the time she arrived at Glasnevin.
It was repeatedly put to Ms Hoey that there was no evidence that she was treated differently because she was younger than her colleagues.
Ms Hoey said she believed she was viewed as “a child” while the colleague who allegedly pushed her was viewed as “a woman” because she had worked there for longer. However, she agreed there was nothing beyond her belief to support this claim.
The case continues.
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May 19, 2021 at 08:25PM
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Former Hyde and Seek worker alleges colleague pushed and threatened her - The Irish Times
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