The Workplace Relations Commission found against Rafaela Mendes in her race discrimination and harassment complaints against Schenker (Ireland) Ltd t/a Db Schenker. The decision, dated 17 July 2024, concerned her employment at the company’s Dublin site.
Mendes said she was treated unfairly over leave, her duties and being asked not to speak Portuguese at work. The company denied discrimination and harassment, and said her leave had been approved in error and that staff were cross-trained.
The adjudicator found the conduct was not related to race. She described a manager’s childcare comment as insensitive, but found it was not race-related harassment. The adjudicator also found an early-employment claim unsupported by admissible evidence and outside the statutory time limit. Both complaints, including one identified as a duplicate, were not well founded.