Five hundred female civil servants passed over for promotion because they were on job-shares during the 1980s and 1990s could be entitled to large amounts of compensation. The Department of Finance is to appeal a decision by the Labour Court which, if upheld, would cost the Exchequer millions.
This is the second time this year the Labour Court has recommended pay awards to female civil servants who have suffered discrimination. Last month it recommended back payments of more than €40 million to 3,000 clerical workers.
Those cases date back to the 1990s but in this decision some of the awards could date back to 1984, when job-sharing was introduced.
In 1997, the European Court of Justice ruled it was discriminatory to credit job-sharers with less service than full-time workers when they were being considered for promotion. The Labour Court here has now waived the six-month time limit for taking cases, which means all job-sharers since 1984 can apply for compensation.
The court's decision has been welcomed by the Civil and Public Service Union, the Public Service Executive Union and IMPACT, which represent the staff concerned.
IMPACT's assistant general secretary, Ms Edna Hoare, said yesterday that most of the women affected were still working in the Civil Service.
When job-sharing was introduced in 1984, staff applying were overwhelmingly female and did so for family reasons. As a result they were only credited with six months service for each of the job-share years.
Promotions within the Civil Service grades affected are mainly by seniority and they were subsequently passed over by full-time colleagues. Grades ranging from clerical assistant to higher inspectors of tax are affected by the judgment.
Ms Hoare, whose members include tax officers and inspectors, said the precise date when members were passed over for promotion could be calculated in many cases.
In other cases, where people lacked the necessary service to apply for promotional posts, it might prove more difficult to calculate loss of earnings and career opportunities.