ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00008359
Parties:
| Worker | Employer |
Anonymised Parties | A Catering Employee | A Hospital |
Dispute:
Act | Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 | CA-00011140-001 | 04/05/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 27/09/2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Louise Boyle
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969 following the referral of the dispute to me by the Director General, I inquired into the dispute and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the dispute.
Background:
The worker has been employed since 1985 and her substantive post is that of a Grade 1 Chef but since 2012 she has been working as a Grade 2. She is seeking to be brought into line with clerical//admin category. |
Summary of Worker’s Case:
The worker should be paid for the job that she actually does. She should be classified as a clerical/administrative employee.
While an offer had been made to her regarding appointing her to a temporary Grade 2 role, no clarification was given on the impact of this on her pension, despite repeated requests. |
Summary of Employer’s Case:
In 2012 the worker applied for the post of Grade 2 but was unsuccessful as she does not have the education qualification required, albeit she does have the required experience. A responsibility allowance was granted on 11th February 2013 which the worker continues to receive.
She does not meet the criteria regarding HSE HR 07/2013 as she would not have been in a post on a continuous basis for 2 years.
On September 12th 2017 the employer was offered a temporary assignment as a Catering Officer (Grade 2) effective from 1st October which was rejected by the worker owing to concerns regarding the impact of this assignment on her pension. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The worker does not currently have the pre-requisite qualification for a permanent role of Grade 2. She made efforts to investigate the required educational qualification in 2012 but nothing since.
The worker has cited concerns in relation to how a temporary role (offered in September 2017) might impact her pension and has not received, thus far, sufficient clarification in relation to this.
Having considered all the evidence I recommend the following:
The employer should give sufficient written clarification, regarding the potential effects of the offer of settlement (issued 12th September 2017), on the worker’s pension entitlement; in order that she might reconsider that offer. |
Recommendation:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
I recommend that the employer should give sufficient written clarification, regarding the potential effects of the offer of settlement (issued 12th September 2017), on the worker’s pension entitlement; in order that she might reconsider that offer. |
Dated: 17/11/17
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Louise Boyle
Key Words:
Industrial relations act, pension, temporary post |