FULL RECOMMENDATION
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 2001 SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : ST ANGELA'S COLLEGE, SLIGO (REPRESENTED BY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION & SCIENCE) - AND - MANUFACTURING, SCIENCE, FINANCE DIVISION : Chairman: Ms Jenkinson Employer Member: Mr Grier Worker Member: Mr O'Neill |
1. Payment of Y2K bonus.
BACKGROUND:
2. The dispute involves a worker employed in St. Angela's College, Sligo in the late 1999. He was in charge of IT hardware in the College and responsible for checking the equipment and ensuring that it was Y2K compliant. During the course of the period in question the College recruited on a temporary basis another person with specific responsibility for the Computer System and the worker was removed from the role. As the new position was only temporary, the worker sought employment with another education body and he commenced employment with the Institute of Technology on 1st November, 1999.
A Civil Service General Agreement Council Report No.1342 provided for a loyalty bonus to staff in certain Unions, in reward for the retention of key IT staff on Year 2000 work states:
- "A set of once-off exceptional measures is being introduced to help alleviate the loss of skilled IT staff working on Year 2000 remedial work by way of mechanisms for theretention/reassignmentof skilled IT staff on/to Year 2000 remedial work.
2. These measures will come into effect immediately and remain in force until 31st March 2000....."
"A flat-rate loyalty bonus, calculated on the basis of time spent on Year 2000 remedial work, will be paid as a lump sum in April 2000 to officers who are eligible under criteria set down in the Annex andwho are still serving in the Civil Service at that date."
The dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of a conciliation conference under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission. As agreement was not reached the dispute was referred to the Labour Court on the 15th April, 2003 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A Labour Court hearing took place on the 19th February, 2004.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
3.1 It is the Union's view that the worker complied with the relevant criteria. He qualified under all other requirements for the Y2K payments. He was available for IT duties in the College. He carried out extensive Y2K work.
2. The worker did not leave the education sector. The College decided that they had no further use for his computer skills and he moved within the sector to an area where his knowledge would be used. His circumstances are no different than where IT staff moved from one Civil Service department to another and received this payment.
COLLEGE'S ARGUMENTS:
4.1 The Agreement states that these were once off measures to help alleviate the loss of skilled IT staff for the period up to and including 31st March 2000.
2. The employee had taken up other employment on 1st November, 1999. He was not employed at the College on the critical dates, up to March 2000. He was therefore not available to the College during the period of changeover in the event of any difficulties arising. He is, therefore, not eligible under the criteria laid down for the scheme.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Court has considered the position of both parties to the Union's claim for the payment of a Y2K bonus to the claimant. The Court accepts that the claimant did not meet the criteria for payment of the bonus, in accordance with the terms of Civil Service General Council Report No. 1342, as he had left the employment of the College in advance of the millennium. The Court accepts that the purpose of this bonus was to pay a loyalty payment to IT staff employed in the public sector, to entice them to stay within the sector for the period of the millennium up to 31st March, 2000.
This issue has been raised with the Court as an industrial relations issue. The Court has considered all aspects of this case, and accepts that the circumstances of his move from the College to the Institute of Technology were somewhat unusual, and in recognition of this co-operation with the College on IT matters, the Court recommends that he should be paid a goodwill gesture of €1,000 in full and final settlement of his claim.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Caroline Jenkinson
8th March, 2004______________________
JBDeputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Jackie Byrne, Court Secretary.