A former recruitment consultant in Ireland has been awarded €136,200 in compensation after it was determined that the firm she worked for had discriminated against her, according to the Workplace Relations Commission and Breakingnews.ie.

The country’s Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) ruled that a Dublin-based recruitment firm, Eteam Workforce, discriminated against recruitment consultant Raquel Vieira Dos Santos Silva on grounds of gender-related to her pregnancy. 

The case can be found here. Dos Santos Silva contended that she was discriminatorily dismissed on grounds of gender and pregnancy. 

SIA contacted Eteam Workforce for comment, but the company has not yet officially responded.

In her ruling, WRC adjudication officer Gaye Cunningham noted the company had moved to change Dos Santos Silva’s employment contract approximately10 days after informing her managers that she was pregnant in July 2023. According to the case, Eteam Workforce claimed it had made an error in omitting an end date to her employment contract.

Cunningham said in the case that eTeam had provided no documents to support its claim that the company had regularly been seeking alternative roles for her at the time. She also noted that Dos Santos Silva had been put under pressure to sign an amended contract.  

The recruitment firm denied that it had breached the Employment Equality Act 1998 and claimed that Dos Santos Silva was let go after a client firm did not wish to renew her contract, the case stated.

The WRC ordered ETeam to pay the former consultant €124,800 compensation for the effects of the discrimination and a further €11,400 in respect of loss of earnings, according to the case.