ADJUDICATION OFFICER Recommendation on dispute under Industrial Relations Act 1969
Investigation Recommendation Reference: IR - SC - 00004560
Parties:
| Worker | Employer |
Anonymised Parties | A Worker | An Employer |
Representatives | David Field Forsa | Ciara Brown IBEC |
Dispute(s):
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 - 00004560 | 23/06/2025 |
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Conor Stokes
Date of Hearing: 08/07/2026
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 (as amended) following the referral of the dispute(s) to me by the Director General, I inquired into the dispute(s) and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any information relevant to the dispute(s).
Background:
This matter was heard by way of remote hearing pursuant to the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2020 and S.I. No. 359/2020 which designates the WRC as a body empowered to hold remote hearings. The dispute relates to the retention of uncollected contributions to the Spouses and Children’s Contributary Pension Scheme |
Summary of Employer’s Case:
The employer raised two preliminary matters for consideration – the jurisdiction of the WRC to hear a dispute which may refer to a body of workers regarding pay and conditions; and that the worker has not exhausted all internal remedies in that the appeal mechanism provided for in relation to the Scheme has not yet been availed of. |
Summary of Worker’s Case:
The worker’s representative confirmed that the worker has not lodged an appeal. |
Conclusions:
In conducting my investigation, I have taken into account all relevant submissions presented to me by the parties. There is an appeals mechanism available which has not been availed of. It was confirmed by the parties that it is still possible to lodge an appeal of the decision to retain funds from the workers retirement lumpsum. In the first instance parties to an Industrial Relations dispute should seek to exhaust all locally available options for dispute resolution. Accordingly, I recommend that the local options to resolve this dispute be availed of prior to taking a complaint to the WRC. |
Recommendation:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
I recommend that the local options to resolve this dispute be availed of prior to taking a complaint to the WRC.
Dated: 14-07-26
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Conor Stokes
Key Words:
IR dispute – local dispute resolutions not exhausted – recommendation to avail of local resolution mechanism |