Brazilian worker who 'cried all the way home' after dismissal over incorrect visa information awarded €25k

The WRC heard that the employee had no doubt that her visa was going to be renewed as she had become engaged in December 2023 and had applied for a mortgage in Ireland. She was dismissed the following month

A Galway fashion retailer has been ordered to pay €25,000 to a Brazilian employee who it fired as a result of incorrect information about the status of her work visa.

The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that Elland Distributors – which trades as Born Clothing with 22 stores nationwide – has unfairly dismissed an employee, Poliane Fernandes Lima. Ms Lima, who had previously worked for Zara and Gucci in Dublin, told the WRC she joined Born Clothing in August 2022 and moved to Galway after being headhunted for the role.

She explained that her visa required her to prove that she was living with her Irish partner for two years and her fiancé had to come with her every year when she was renewing it in order to demonstrate that their relationship was still ongoing.

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The WRC heard that she had no doubt that her visa was going to be renewed as she had become engaged in December 2023 and had applied for a mortgage in Ireland. Ms Lima gave evidence that the firm’s office manager, Marty Murphy, had given her a letter on January 25, 2024 which said they were letting her go.

Ms Lima told the WRC that she informed him that her visa was going to be renewed a few days later. However, she said Mr Murphy told her to go back upstairs and get her stuff and leave. Ms Lima said she was very upset over what had happened and had cried all the way home

She pointed out that she was not given any opportunity to defend herself or to appeal the decision. The WRC heard that she had not found alternative employment despite applying for positions in fashion, food, toys and homewares, as well as for jobs in Portugal as she spoke the language.

Mr Murphy told the WRC that he had dismissed Ms Lima on January 25, 2024 after discovering that her visa had expired two days earlier. The witness said he had sought legal advice about the ramifications of employing somebody without a working visa. The WRC heard that Ms Lima’s visa was renewed on January 28, 2024 which Mr Murphy acknowledged was within her notice period.

He accepted he had not spoken to the complainant about her visa or asked if she had renewed it. Mr Murphy said he did not recall that Ms Lima had offered to stay at home for one day and not come back to work until the following Monday after her visa had been renewed. He said he had allowed her to work on January 24-25 while he was getting legal advice, despite being aware of the possible ramification of employing someone not legally entitled to work in the State.

WRC adjudication official, Niamh O’Carroll, observed that it was accepted that nothing was done other than to write a dismissal letter. Ms O’Carroll said Ms Lima was certain that her visa would be renewed as she satisfied all of the criteria and her position was even stronger than in previous years as she had become engaged to an Irish citizen.

She highlighted how the legal advice obtained by Mr Murphy had not informed him about an eight-week grace period allowed for by the Department of Justice in cases where a visa had expired. Ms O’Carroll said Ms Lima was dismissed on January 25, 2024, despite telling her employer that her visa would be renewed one working day later on January 28, 2024.

She said she was satisfied that the company “in the absence of any procedures whatsoever and acting on incorrect information” had unfairly dismissed the complainant. Ms O’Carroll highlighted how the relevant information about work visas was readily available for anyone who looked for it on the department’s website.

“Even that menial task was not carried out by the respondent prior to terminating the complainant’s employment,” she added. Awarding Ms Lima compensation of €25,000, Ms O’Carroll noted she had made strenuous efforts to find a new job but had been unsuccessful.

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