FULL RECOMMENDATION
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1990 SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : SOUTHERN HEALTH BOARD - AND - IRISH NURSES ORGANISATION DIVISION : Chairman: Mr Flood Employer Member: Mr Keogh Worker Member: Ms Ni Mhurchu |
1. Claim for the payment of a subsistence allowance to Public Health Nurses.
BACKGROUND:
2. This dispute concerns a claim for payment of a subsistence allowance to Public Health Nurses (PHN) employed by the Southern Health Board when they are away from base for more than five hours, but less than ten hours on a given day. The Union claims that a subsistence allowance is currently paid to other employees of the SHB who are also required to cover a particular geographical area e.g. environmental health officers, senior PHNs, superintendent PHNs, PHNs with responsibility for schools and PHNs who carry out child care assignments. The Union also claims that a subsistence allowance is paid to PHNs in the Eastern Health Board (Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow). Management rejected the claim. The dispute was referred to the Labour Relations Commission and a conciliation conference was held on the 2nd of December, 1998, agreement was not reached. The dispute was referred to the Labour Court by the Labour Relations Commission on the 7th of December, 1998. A Court hearing was held in Cork, on the 19th of May, 1999.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. The allowance which the Union is seeking to have applied is provided for under Department of Health Circular 10/71 "which provides for the payment of travelling expenses at public sector mileage rates of pay in respect of every journey necessary made on official business". The subsistence allowances amount to £8.46 per day .
2. Public Health Nurses in other areas are all paid the relevant travelling allowance for journeys they incur during the course of their work. It is not paid to the workers concerned when relevant. The Board has consistently refused to pay the allowance on the basis that they are not entitled to it because PHNs are based in their whole geographic area and not the Health Centre from which they work. There is no basis for this assessment nor is there any documentation that states officers base or home is their whole geographic area. The workers feel that they are being discriminated against. They are treated less fairly than some of their PHN colleagues both regionally and nationally in terms of conditions of service with regard to the payment of subsistence allowance.
3. The Department of Health and Children clearly lays down the facility to pay officers the appropriate reduced subsistence allowance of £8.46 daily, when they are away from "home" for five hours or more but less than ten hours. Fairness and equity should dictate that all conditions of service for officers should be applied by the Board, to all of them equally, who qualify for same. The workers concerned should have the terms of Circular 10/71, in relation to the payment of subsistence applied to them with full retrospection.
BOARD'S ARGUMENTS:
4. 1. The Southern Health Board operates a comprehensive Public Health Service that covers both Cork and Kerry. Due to the large geographical span of the service area covered, a degree of flexibility exists within each district that a Public Health Nurse is assigned to. Public Health Nurses work on a district system within a sector and deliver the service to the client/patient within this district.
2. The Senior PHNs and Superintendent PHNs who receive the allowance, deliver a different type of service. They have a wide range of duties and responsibilities and operate from Sector and Area Headquarters (details to the Court). It is not custom and practice to pay a subsistence allowance to PHNs as the area they cover is smaller than that covered by other workers. Given the large number of PHNs, it would be very costly to pay them a subsistence allowance.
3. The Board contends that some of the Health Boards quoted by the Union as applying the allowance i.e. Eastern Health Board, do not pay the subsistence allowance to PHNs.
4. In the delivery of the Public Health Service, the district is considered to be the base for the Public Health Nurse. The Board does not consider that subsistence would be payable when a Public Health Nurse continues to operate within her district while outside headquarters.
5. Concession of the claim could have "knock-on" effects for other grades.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Court is not satisfied that there are justifiable reasons for not paying the claimants the allowance claimed, particularly as they are paid mileage allowance.
The Court is sympathetic to this claim.
However, this issue is one with nation-wide implications.
The Court, therefore, recommends that this issue be negotiated centrally, these negotiations to be completed by the 1st of December, 1999.
If an agreement has not been negotiated by that date the court will make a definitive recommendation on this particular claim.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Finbarr Flood
11th June, 1999.______________________
TOD/BCChairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Tom O'Dea, Court Secretary.