ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Decision Reference: ADJ-00002787
Complaint(s)/Dispute(s) for Resolution:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 | CA-00003871-001 | 15/04/2016 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 28/06/2016
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael Hayes
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41(4) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and the abovementioned Act following the referral of the complaint(s)/dispute(s) to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint(s)/dispute(s) and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint(s)/dispute(s).
Complainant’s Submission and Presentation:
I have been issued with a written warning regarding an incident in which there was no valid investigation, no disciplinary hearing or indeed any right of appeal. On requesting to appeal the warning in any event, said request has been ignored and I am left with no alternative but to seek to have this matter appealed under the Industrial Relations legislation. I have attached to this complaint form all documents relating to this alleged penalty against me which I am seeking to have over turned. |
The complainant submits that she was disciplined inappropriately following an incident on the 22nd of December 2015. No formal investigation, disciplinary hearing or appeal option was offered in line with the contractual provision on the one hand and in breach of S I 146 of 2000 on the other.
Respondent’s Submission and Presentation:
The respondent submits that it commenced an investigation on the 9th of January 2016 concerning an operational process failure which occurred on the 22nd of December 2015. The employees involved were informed that it was a serious issue. The complainant was invited to a follow up meeting with her local trade union representative at which she admitted her mistake and offered to make restitution for the same. It was noted that she had refused to stay back at work on the day to complete the process. In the circumstances it was submitted that a formal disciplinary hearing was unnecessary and that insofar as she had admitted the failure the requirement to conduct an appeal was negated.
Decision:
I note that the complainant is adamant that she reported the issue to management and that she had been instructed to leave work on the day of the alleged failure on the basis that she was sick. I further note that it is her position that she had observed that the process had not been completed prior to leaving work.
The respondent in this case is in flagrant breach of its own policy and S I 146/2000. The complainant’s rights have been severely restricted and undermined in the process.
Accordingly I recommend that the sanction against the claimant be withdrawn and the record in that regard be set at nought. Furthermore I recommend that the respondent should review its approach to matters of staff discipline with the objective of adopting an appropriate operational instruction (to be shared with all staff) to avoid recurrence. Finally I am not in a position to recommend compensatory payment as petitioned.
Dated: 4th August 2016