LCR22450

FULL RECOMMENDATION

SECTION 13(9), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1969

PARTIES :

BROTHERS OF CHARITY SERVICES IRELAND
(REPRESENTED BY IBEC)

- AND -

A WORKER

DIVISION :

SUBJECT:

1. Appeal Of Adjudication Officer Decision No. ADJ-00030957, CA-00041252-001

BACKGROUND:

2. The Worker appealed the Adjudication Officer’s Recommendation to the Labour Court on 3 June 2021 in accordance with Section 13(9) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969.

On 26 April 2021 the Adjudication Officer issued the following Recommendation:-

“I recommend that the Employee accepts that her dispute with her Employer, which consisted of five different grievances as identified in my findings, has been resolved.”

A Labour Court hearing took place on 13 August 2021.

DECISION :

This case is an appeal by a Worker of the Decision of an Adjudication Officer. The issues in dispute between the parties are five grievances that the Worker has raised. The Adjudication Officer recommended that the Worker accept that her disputes with the Employer in respect of her five grievances have been resolved.

The Worker in her submission to the Court set out details of her grievances, she accepted that she had processed them through the internal procedure and that she had been given written outcomes in respect of each of her grievances. The Worker also accepted that she had been advised of the appeal procedures available and afforded the opportunity at each stage to be represented by her Trade Union.

The Worker accepted that she had not initiated a claim under the Employer’s dignity at Work procedures. The Worker informed the Court that she could not point to any specific breach by the Employer of its procedure in terms of investigating her complaint. It was the Worker’s submission that she was unhappy with the outcome and that she felt the Court should recommend that she be promoted to the next grade. The Worker offered no basis for why the Court should recommend that she should be promoted not did she provide any documentation to support her assertion that she should be promoted.

The Employer’s submission is that they investigated all the Worker’s grievances using their procedures which she was familiar with. The Complainant was seeking to use her alleged grievances as a platform to get herself promoted to a higher grade, The issues the Worker raised were not raised by her in a timely manner and when investigated were not upheld.

The Worker at local level and her representative on her behalf at the Adjudication hearing had conceded that in general these issues had been addressed and that the Worker was now happy to work in the field she was in. By this appeal the worker was seeking to row back on what she had already conceded. The Worker did not raise any issues in respect of the process used by the Employer to investigate her grievance.

The Court having carefully read all the submissions and listened to the oral submissions on the day finds no issue with the process used by the Employer to investigate her grievances. The Court recommends that the Workers accepts the outcome of the grievance procedure.

On that basis the Worker’s appeal fails.

The Decision of the Adjudication officer is upheld.

The Court so decides.

NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Decision should be addressed to Orla Collender, Court Secretary.