LCR23213

PARTIES:

DIVISION:

SUBJECT:

A referral under Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990.

BACKGROUND:

This dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of a Conciliation Conference under the auspices

of the Workplace Relations Commission. As agreement was not reached, the dispute was referred to the Labour

Court on 9 October 2025 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990.

A Labour Court hearing took place on 15 January 2026.

RECOMMENDATION:

The matter before the Court is a dispute about the weekly hours of work for Telephonist grades working at St James Hospital.  The union submits that, following a job evaluation review, Telephonists should work 35 hours per week, as per the consolidated pay scale for HSE Grade IV clerical grades. The employer rejects the claim. It contends that Telephonists have a contractual obligation to work 37.5 hours per week.

The parties accept that, historically, Telephonists at the hospital worked 37.5 hours per week. Under productivity measures set out in the Haddington Road Agreement, their weekly hours increased from 37.5 to 39 hours per week. In 2022, their working hours reverted to 37.5 hours as per the terms of the Building Momentum Agreement.

In 2022, Telephonists sought a review of their grade based on changes to work practices. The outcome of the review process - conducted under the auspices of the National Evaluation Scheme for clerical grades - was that the Telephonist post was upgraded from Grade III to Grade IV. Updated contracts of employment issued to staff reflecting the revised pay rates as per the Grade IV salary scale. Weekly hours of attendance remained unchanged at 37.5 hours per week.

Union Position

Telephonists seek full application of the outcome of the job evaluation process, which was the migration of the post to Grade IV. Telephonists were subject to a collection evaluation process and are subject to the terms and conditions of collective agreements. As a result, the grade of Telephonists is 35 hours per week.

A Department of Health Circular issued in July 1997 identified that all new Telephonist posts would be classified as Clerical Officer grades. All Telephonists were subsequently assimilated into HSE clerical grades and any local agreements superseded by National Collective Agreements. A clear link to the terms and conditions of clerical officer grades was established via the application of additional hours under the terms of the Haddington Road Agreement.

A HSE memo dated 1 July 2022 – which sets out applicable hours of work for grades on reversal of the Haddington Road terms - identifies all telephonist grades as having an attendance of 35 hours a week.

The employer is in breach of the Public Service Stability Agreement in terms of consolidated pay scales and hours of work. Telephonists seek the application of the consolidated pay scales and hours of attendance for Grade IV, with retrospection to 18 January 2024, the date of application of the evaluation outcome.

Employer Position

The claim is misconceived. Telephonists were regraded to Grade IV for pay purposes only.

The regrading of the post does not confer any changes to the Telephonists contractual working hours of 37.5 hours per week.

The Telephonist role is analogous to Grade IV, which means that the role is similar but not identical to that grade. Telephonists do not have the same conditions of employment as Grade Clerical Officers. They work set shifts and do not have access to flexitime. As a Section 38 employment, the hospital retains autonomy to agree terms and conditions of employment in line with the hospital’s requirements. There are no national standard weekly hours for the Telephonist grade as local arrangements apply. There is no consistency across the wider hospital group in terms of working hours in telephone exchanges.

The claim is cost increasing and in breach of the Public Service Stability Agreement. Concession of the claim would necessitate substantial alterations to existing roster arrangements and additional resourcing. It would inevitably destabilise other analogous grades in the hospital and have potential contagion across the wider public sector.

The Court has given careful consideration to the oral and written submissions made.

The Union contends that Telephonists have an entitlement to work 35 hours per week, as per HSE Grade IV clerical officers. It rejects the Employer’s contention that Telephonists are in an analogous position to Grade IV and have no contractual entitlement to the same weekly working hours.

In support of their respective positions, both parties referred the Court to examples of other hospitals where telephonists worked either 35 or 37.5 hours per week.

The Union relies on a HSE memo dated 1 July 2022 addressing hours of work for grades following reversal of productivity measures provided under the Haddington Road Agreement. The Court notes that the Memo relates solely relates to the reversal of measures under the Haddington Road Agreement, and further notes that the Telephonists at St James Hospital reverted to working 37.5 hours per week.

The Union also relies on documentation which it sought to submit after the hearing to support its position that the outcome of the job evaluation process confers an entitlement to a 35-hour working week. The documentation submitted did not address any matters relating to hours of work or contractual entitlements.

No documentation or agreement was provided to the Court that supports the Union’s claim that Telephonists at St James’ Hospital have an entitlement to work a 35-hour working week.

In light of that fact, and having regard to all of the circumstances, the Court can see no basis for concession of the Union’s claim.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Katie Connolly
TH	______________________
9 February 2026	Deputy Chairman

NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Decision should be addressed to Ms Therese Hickey, Court Secretary.