FULL RECOMMENDATION
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1990 SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : FÁS - AND - SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION DIVISION : Chairman: Ms Jenkinson Employer Member: Mr Murphy Worker Member: Mr Nash |
1. Application Of Term Time Policy
BACKGROUND:
2. The case before the Court concerns a claim by the Union that its members in FÁS be allowed to avail of the Shorter Working Year Scheme. The purpose of this scheme is to allow civil and public servants balance their working arrangements with outside commitments. It is unpaid leave taken during the school summer holiday periods. In early 2010, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation advised FÁS that they would not be allowed hire temporary staff to cover staff who availed of the Shorter Working Year Scheme due to the Moratorium on Recruitment and Promotions in the Public Service. After unsuccessfully requesting a derogation form the Moratorium, FÁS decided to withdraw the Scheme as backfilling of posts could not occur The Union argues that the withdrawal of the Scheme has caused undue hardship and distress on its members. FÁS contends that the granting of unpaid leave is not a condition of employment and is dependant on the operating requirements of the organisation as stated in the policy.
The dispute could not be resolved at local level and was a subject of a Conciliation Conference under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission. As no agreement was reached, the matter was referred to the Labour Court in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969. A Labour Court hearing took place on the 31st August, 2010.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1 The decision to not allow staff avail of the Shorter Working Year Scheme has caused undue hardship and distress on our members. Some members have found themselves having to pay for hired childcare that they cannot afford.
2 The Union is conscious of the grave economic position of the Country. The Union's proposal for the hiring of temporary staff would not generate any extra cost to the State. It would most likely generate a saving for the State as those hired would sign off the live register for that period of employment.
3 The Staff of FÁS should be treated in the same way as those in the wider Civil Service and that they should be able to avail of the Shorter Working Year Scheme.
EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS
4. 1 FÁS supports its policies on Work Life balance but an integral part of that policy is that it is at the discretion of FÁS management and the operational requirements of the organisation must not be adversely affected by the granting of the Shorter Working Year Scheme. FÁS has agreed to consider urgent requests for leave of absence for staff where such could be accommodated without a reduction in service delivery.
2 FÁS have acted fairly in consulting with the Union in good time, outlining the rationale and reasons for the withdrawal and endeavouring to find a solution.
3 FÁS continue to have staffing issues due to the Moratorium.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Union submitted a claim to the Court concerning the decision by the Executive Board of FÁS not to grant "Term Time Leave" to staff during 2010.
Management on behalf of FÁS stated that the reason for not granting the leave in 2010 was directly due to the Government's Moratorium on Recruitment, Pay and Promotion, which prohibited the recruitment of staff to backfill the vacancies created by employees availing of the leave.
The Union stated that the employees in FÁS have traditionally availed of this leave in accordance with the "Shorter Working Year Scheme" which permits civil and public servants to balance working arrangements with school holidays for children. It held that these arrangements still exist in other areas of the civil and public service despite the Moratorium, where derogations have been granted to recruit temporary employees to fill the resulting vacancies. FÁS management does not dispute this point.
Management stated that during 2009 it made strenuous efforts to accommodate staff who applied for such leave with leave and again in 2010 approximately half of those who applied were granted leave under different leave arrangements to suit their individual circumstances. However, due to the Moratorium and the major structural changes, which are about to take place in FÁS, it was not possible to give any commitments on such future arrangements.
Having considered the submissions of both parties the Court recommends that FÁS should re-instate the Term Time Leave Scheme and should continue to make every effort to accommodate employees wishing to avail of the scheme while maintaining the delivery of services. This should include an application in a timely fashion to the appropriate authorities for a derogation from the Moratorium to facilitate the recruitment of temporary employees to backfill any ensuing vacancies.
The Court so recommends.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Caroline Jenkinson
17th September, 2010______________________
DNDeputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to David P Noonan, Court Secretary.