ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference:  ADJ-00057196

Parties:

Complaint:

Date of Adjudication Hearing:  23/07/2025

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer:  Gaye Cunningham

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 following the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint.

Background:

The complaint is that the Complainant was not notified in writing of a change in her contract of employment as provided for in Section 5 of the Act.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The Complainant provided written and oral submissions summarised as follows:

She stated that she had been in an acting position as Senior Staff Officer Grade VI since September 2022 due to a colleague being on long term sick leave.  She was offered a permanent position at a lower grade, Grade V.  She felt “pushed into a corner” to applying for and accepting the lower grade when in fact the colleague did not return from sick leave and she felt she should have been offered a permanent Grade VI.   She said she was on a panel, came second and permanent positions had become available, but it was decided to let it expire before offering any posts.   

The Complainant outlined the timeline of events from September 2022 when she was given a specific purpose contract for Senior Staff Officer.  She stated that she was position 2 on the panel for Senior Staff Officer on Wednesday 31st January 2024 and was told that the panel was to be extended.  She was informed on 20 February 2025 that she was to be offered a permanent Staff Officer position from a panel that commenced on 7 November 2023.  She applied for the Senior Staff Officer panel in January 2025 and contacted HR regarding her role as Acting Senior Staff Officer.

On 15 April 2025 the Complainant put it on the record to the Respondent by email to the SEO Payroll, that she was aggrieved at her treatment and she put on record that her contract stated that her position would cease on the return of employee x from sick leave.

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

The respondent provided a detailed submission on the background of the case.

In summary, the Complainant held a number of temporary and then permanent positions with the Council from August 2017 as follows:

2017      Temporary Library Assistant

2018      Temporary Clerical Officer

2020      Permanent Library Assistant

2021      Permanent Clerical Officer

2022      Acting Senior Staff Officer (Grade VI) due to sick leave absence of colleague

2025      Permanent Staff Officer (Grade V)

A confined panel for Senior Staff Officer Grade VI was formed in January 2024.  The Complainant was placed 2nd on this panel which remained in place until its expiry in January 2025.  No permanent posts became available during the lifetime of this panel and as it was a confined panel the post would have in the first instance been offered to another employee who came 1st on the panel.

A National Agreement in relation to recruitment of Clerical/Administrative Grades IV to VII in the Local Authority Sector provides that while the first post filling is from the Local Authority itself, this is followed by a filling from the Local Authority Sector and then by an Open Competition filling.  It is then the fourth post that is to be filled from the Local Authority.  This would have meant that there would have needed to be 4 posts available and filled in order for an offer to be made to the Complainant.  Again no permanent posts became available in the lifetime of the panel.

A competition was subsequently held for a number of vacancies at Grade VI.  The Complainant was shortlisted but not successful in being placed on the panel.

The current complaint was submitted under Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994.  The complaint is stated as

I have been in this acting position since September 2022 due to a colleague being on long term sick.  My employer has now offered me a permanent position at a lower grade but won’t provide any details.  I was on a panel, came second and permanent positions had become available, but it was decided to let it expire before offering any posts.  They have now advertised for a new Grade 6 panel and the closing date was last Thursday.

The Complainant has been employed by the Council in the acting SSO position since September 2022 and was provided with a contract of employment in that regard.

Section 7 of the Act provides:

7 (1) An employee may present a complaint to a rights commissioner that his or her employer has contravened section 3, 4, 5 or 6 in relation to him or her…

Section 3 requires the provision of the following:

 (a) the full names of the employer and the employee,

(b) the address of the employer in the State

(c) the place of work

(d) the title of the job or nature of the work

(e) the date of commencement of the employee’s contract of employment,

(f) in the case of a temporary contract the duration or expected expiry date

(g) the rate or method of calculation of the employee’s remuneration

(h) the length of the intervals between the times at which remuneration is paid, whether a week, a month or other interval,

(j) any terms or conditions relating to paid leave (other than sick leave),

(k) any terms or conditions relating to –  incapacity for work due to sickness or injury and paid sick leave, and pensions and pension schemes..

Section 5 relates to notification of changes to any terms of employment under section 3,4 or 6 of the Act.  In this regard the Complainant’s employment in their substantive post did not change apart from taking up the acting SSO position in September 2022.  An acting SSO contract was provided and in accordance with Sections 3 and 5 of the Act.

The complaint in this case relates to the Complainant not being offered a permanent appointment to the SSO post they occupied in an acting capacity during the period when their panel was in place. This is not an issue relevant to the Act.  The Respondent contends that this is not an issue identified under the Act in relation to the requirement to provide details thereof, nor are they identified in the requirement to notify changes under this Act.

After submitting the complaint to the WRC the Complainant was successful and took up the post of Staff Officer in April 2025 and was provided with a contract of employment in that regard.

Findings and Conclusions:

The Complainant in this case has a dispute with her employer regarding what she perceived as an unacceptable situation whereby she had to leave her acting Grade VI post and take up a permanent Grade V post.  I note the voluminous correspondence between her and the SEO Payroll in which the SEO made many attempts to explain the situation.  I note the Complainant’s frustration at the ramifications of the various National Agreements, Rules and regulations and Circulars governing appointments.  I note that no matter what explanation is offered she does not appear to accept the Respondent’s position in relation to the panels.  Nevertheless I am obliged to consider the applicable law under which the Complainant lodged her complaint.

Put simply, the Complainant had a contract for each of the positions she held all in accordance with Section 3 of the Act.  Therefore there was no breach in relation to Section 3.

Section 5 of the Act governs changes to the particulars made under section 3, 4 or 6.

5.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), whenever a change is made or occurs in any of

the particulars of the statement furnished by an employer under section 3, 4 or 6,

the employer shall notify the employee in writing of the nature and date of the change

as soon as may be thereafter, but not later than—

(a) the day on which the change takes effect, or

(b) where the change is consequent on the employee being required to work

outside the State for a period of more than 1 month, the time of the

employee’s departure.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to a change occurring in provisions of

statutes or instruments made under statute other than a registered employment

agreement or employment regulation order, or of any other laws or of any

administrative provisions or collective agreements referred to in the statement given

under section 3 or 4.

The Complainant was furnished with a contract of employment for the acting position of SSO and no changes were made to that written contract as could be considered a breach of Section 5 of the Act.

I find the complaint to be not well founded.

Decision:

Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.

Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 requires that I make a decision in relation to the provisions of that Act.

Based on the reasons and findings above, I have decided that the complaint is not well founded.

Dated:   28/08/25

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer:  Gaye Cunningham

Key Words: