LCR22514

FULL RECOMMENDATION

SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990

PARTIES :

HSE CAVAN/MONAGHAN

- AND -

APPROXIMATELY 10 NURSES
(REPRESENTED BY IRISH NURSES & MIDWIVES ORGANISATION AND PSYCHIATRIC NURSES ASSOCIATION)

DIVISION :

SUBJECT:

1. Payment Of Location Allowance To Nurses Working In Annalee View House, Cootehill, Co Cavan.

BACKGROUND:

2. This dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of Conciliation Conferences under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission. As agreement was not reached, the dispute was referred to the Labour Court on 27 August 2021 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A Labour Court hearing took place on 14 December 2021.


WORKER’S/UNION’S ARGUMENTS:

1. The Workers are entitled to payment of the Location Allowance as Annalee View House meets the criteria for this allowance.

2. The Workers had previously received agreement from Local Management that this allowance would be paid. 

EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS:

1. The Employer does not agree with the assessment used by the Union to determine that Annalee View House meets the criteria for the Location Allowance.

2. The Employer holds that the previous agreement by Local Management was wrong as it is not possible to pay the allowance when the location does not meet the criteria.

RECOMMENDATION :

Background to the Dispute

This dispute relates to a claim for payment of a Location Allowance to nine nurses who work or have worked at Annalee View House, Cootehill. County Cavan. Annalee View House provides twenty-four-hour respite care to persons with a disability. The Location Allowance in question is provided for in Circular 112/99. T

hat Circular reflects terms of agreement reached between Health Services Management and the Nursing Unions as part of the settlement of the 1999 nurses’ strike. It provides, inter alia, for payment of an allowance to nurses working in an Intellectual Disability (‘ID’) service where 75% or more of the clients accessing that service have a severe or profound intellectual disability.

Recommendation

There is a protracted history to the within dispute. It was previously before the Court in 2020. The Court (in Recommendation LCR22212) recommended the Parties engage in further discussions under the auspices of the Conciliation Service of the Workplace Relations Commissions. The Parties did so but were unable to resolve the issues in dispute in that forum and the matter was, therefore, referred back to the Court.

Having heard and carefully considered the Parties’ submissions afresh, it appears to the Court that the dispute is one that is only capable of resolution at a national level between HSE Management and the Unions. The Court, therefore, recommends that the Parties agree to engage at that level with a view to arriving at a consensus, particularly in relation to the appropriate metrics to be applied in determining whether the 75% threshold at which the Location Allowance in question becomes payable has been met in a particular ID setting.

The Court so recommends.

NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Cathal Nurney, Court Secretary.