The Workplace Relations Commission found Oliver Natale’s race discrimination complaint against the Department Of Social Protection not well founded. In a decision dated 1 September 2023, it said he had not provided evidence from which discrimination could be inferred.
Natale alleged that the Department’s handling of his Back to Work Enterprise Allowance application was discriminatory, including an officer’s refusal to meet him. The Department denied discrimination and said the application was assessed through its usual process. The adjudicator found the officer assessed the proposal and made a recommendation to a deciding officer. The WRC’s role was to decide the discrimination complaint, not whether the allowance application itself should be approved.