To ask or not to ask - requesting details of illnesses in sick certificates

In a recent case before the Workplace Relations Commission (“WRC”), an Adjudicator awarded €18,000 (approximately six months’ salary) to a sales rep who had been discriminated on the ground of disability.  The Adjudicator found that the sales rep had been discriminated against when he was dismissed for a minor misdemeanour shortly after he revealed to his employer that he was taking anti-depressants. The employee revealed his condition after the Personnel Manager made enquiries about the exact medication he was taking.  The Adjudicator felt that the “request [was] an invasion of his privacy” and did not accept the evidence given by the Personnel Manager that she wanted to check