ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00009188
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | Administrative Assistant | A Trade Union |
Representatives | A Trade Union Official | A Trade Union Official |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 | CA-00012100-001 | 23/06/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 03/01/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969 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).
Background:
The Complainant submitted a claim that her employer had failed to withdraw an unfounded complaint, she wanted her sick leave restored, and as she had suffered stress over the situation to be compensated for any loss of overtime. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant is employed by the Respondent for 34 years. A complaint was raised at a local trade Council meeting regarding the Complainant. The Complainant had no opportunity to respond to the Branch directly. The complaint had a very negative effect on the Complainant personally and the complaint was distributed to a lot of staff, without the Complainant being named, but everyone knew it related to her. While an examination exonerated the Complainant, she feels it could happen again and wants procedures put in place to ensure it does not and fair process to resolve any issues in the future. The Complainant advised she had no intention of taking any legal action but just wanted the issue resolved. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent examined the issues involved and proposed paying the Complainant any loss of overtime and was readjusting their sick pay scheme, from 2018 so the Complainant would have no loss. The Respondent took a formal decision at its Executive level to note in its Minutes that the Complainant had done no wrongdoing and this has been circulated to all branches as agreed.
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Recommendation:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
While, as I mentioned at the Hearing, this claim has elements within the claim that are not 100% Industrial Relations, I will deal with the issues either way as the parties wished me to do so.
The Complainant’s main issue was that a complaint, unfounded it would seem, was made against her and her employer did not have the proper mechanism to deal with it and allow her fair procedure to respond. She also feels that the local Committee have not been told that the process was unfair and that the situation could happen again. The Respondent, for its part feels it has done everything reasonable to address and correct the issue and is undergoing a review of its own procedures at present.
In this specific case I recommend that the Respondent write to the local Branch Committee, where the Complainant is based, to both formally advise them that the National Committee has found any allegations against the Complainant unfounded and it has been noted at Executive Management Committee accordingly and that should any complaint arise against the Complainant in the future, at Branch level, that prior to it being formalised at Local Branch level, that the Complainant must be notified of it and given an opportunity to either meet with the Branch Chairperson or full Committee in advance of the complaint being communicated further beyond the Committee.
In the event that the Complainant has suffered any loss of pay or overtime arising from the situation I recommend that the amount be agreed between the Complaints Representative and the Respondents HR Manager within four weeks of todays date and be paid to the Complainant within eight weeks of todays date.
It is not my role to recommend any solution beyond the Complainants specific claim.
Dated: 2nd May 2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Key Words:
Grievance process |