Worker

Employer

Anonymised Parties

A Worker

An Employer

Representatives

Robert Jacob of Jacob and Twomey Solicitors

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 - 00004795

24/07/2025

The Worker was a supervisor for the Employer. She has submitted a trade dispute in relation to their alleged failure to address persistent workplace bullying which she submits that she experienced over two years.

The Worker submits that she was bullied and her Employer failed to take any action to support her.

The Employer submits that the Worker has failed to exhaust internal procedures before referring the matter to the WRC.

In conducting my investigation, I have taken into account all relevant submissions presented to me by the parties.

The Worker was first issued with a copy of the Employer’s dignity at work/ grievance policy in 2023 when a complaint was made against her. At the time she was having difficulty in dealing with some staff who failed to follow direction and uphold the Employer’s standards. 

In December 2023 the Worker raised a serious incident with her line manager who went on leave. She then raised it with HR. HR asked her to wait until her line manager returned before taking further action and when they did return it was proposed that the manager would speak to the relevant staff. The Worker agreed with this outcome.  However, the Worker continued to experience bullying and aggressive behaviour. While she did consider raising a further complaint her manager discouraged her from doing so because it had become difficult backfilling staff. Ultimately the Worker transferred to another location in early 2024 by agreement.

The Worker was placed on sick leave a number of times in 2024 but was returned to work by her doctor. The Worker submits that her health deteriorated because of her work over the year before her complaint was lodged however the only medical information submitted to the Employer at the time did not identify any actions the Employer should take and the Worker did not raise any sort of formal request related to her health which the Employer failed to act on.

The Worker submits that she began experiencing difficulties and aggressive behaviour from some staff in May 2025. She raised this with her line manager but nothing was done. She did not escalate this to HR.

The Worker was placed on lay-off in May 2025 due to particular documentation being outstanding. She took this time to recover but submits her health was badly damaged and she wanted to focus on moving to an entirely different location while remaining with the Employer.

At the time of referral of the trade dispute to the WRC, the Worker had raised a number of issues by text and by email with line management. After the referral the Worker raised issues with HR. At no time did the Worker seek to submit a formal complaint under the policies, which she was well aware of, so that it could be investigated by the Employer.

As such she has not exhausted the employer’s own internal processes before escalating to the WRC. The Employer’s representative is quite right that this is well established requirement of both the WRC and Labour Court before intervening in any trade dispute.

I note that the Worker has submitted a number of medical documents supporting her position that her health deteriorated due to work however these are all dated after the referral of this trade dispute and when she had ceased actively working for the Employer. It is not clear if these documents were ever submitted to the Employer so that they might act on them and what that course of action might be.