The Labour Court found that M.K. Human Resources Limited T/A Temple Recruitment discriminated against Monika Martela on disability grounds and awarded her €20,000. The Court varied the Adjudication Officer’s decision in its determination signed on 12 July 2017. It upheld the finding that her complaint against DHL Supply Chain (Ireland) Limited was not well founded, and dismissed her victimisation complaint against Temple Recruitment.
Martela had worked for Temple Recruitment as an agency worker assigned to clients including DHL. She stopped her DHL assignment in February 2013 because she feared an infection could delay planned medical treatment. The Court found she intended to return to agency work and rejected Temple Recruitment’s account that she had resigned that month.
When Martela tried to return in June 2013, Temple Recruitment asked her for further medical confirmation. The Court found that request made no sense while the agency maintained she had already ended her employment. It concluded Temple Recruitment had not rebutted her case of disability discrimination. The €20,000 compensation was for the effects of discrimination, not loss of earnings, and was not subject to tax.