Recommendation
Industrial Relations Act 1969
Investigation Recommendation Reference: IR - SC - 00005652
Parties:
| Worker | Employer |
Anonymised Parties | A Manager of an IPAS Centre | An IPAS Centre |
Representatives | Did not attend the hearing | Michael O’Sullivan BL |
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 | IR - SC - 00005652 | 12/11/2025 |
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Date of Hearing: 23/04/2026
Procedure:
In accordance with section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 (as amended), the Director General assigned this dispute to me for investigation. A hearing was arranged for Thursday, April 23rd 2026 at 09.30. The subject matter is a dispute under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 and the hearing took place in private and the parties are not named. In accordance with the section 8 of the Industrial Relations Act 1990, they are referred to as “the worker” and “the employer.”
The employer was represented by Mr Michael O’Sullivan BL, instructed by Ms Bronagh Sawey of Shannon & O’Connor Solicitors. Two members of the employer’s management team attended the hearing to set out the case for the company. The worker did not attend. At 9.30am, when I arrived to conduct the investigation, I was informed by a member of the reception staff in the WRC that he had telephoned to say he was sick. He did not send in a medical certificate and he did not adhere to the WRC’s procedures for requesting a postponement. The worker’s failure to attend and his failure to give proper notice of his absence has resulted in the time spent preparing for his investigation being wasted, and the time allocated for his scheduled hearing going unused.
Recommendation:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
I have reviewed the documents submitted by the worker, and the comprehensive submission provided by the employer in preparation for the investigation of this dispute. In the circumstances in which the worker did not attend the hearing, I recommend that the grievance process initiated by the worker in November 2025 is treated by both parties as closed and that no further action is taken regarding the matter in dispute. |
Dated: 30-04-26
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Key Words:
The worker did not attend the hearing. |