FULL RECOMMENDATION
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1990 SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : ST JOHN'S HOSPITAL - AND - INMO DIVISION : Chairman: Ms Jenkinson Employer Member: Ms Cryan Worker Member: Mr Shanahan |
1. Payment of a Location Allowance
BACKGROUND:
2. This case concerns a dispute between the Employer and Union in relation to the payment of a location allowance to Nursing Staff employed in St John's Hospital. The staff in question are currently assigned to an interim Clinical Observation Unit (COU) pending the implementation of a HSE Acute Medicine Programme. The Staff in question were paid the allowances while previously assigned to other units within the Hospital but are no longer in receipt of the allowance while assigned to the COU. Management's position is that the current work being carried out in the COU is not at the same level as existed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Coronary Care Unit (CCU) or High Dependency Unit (HDU) and that the payment of the allowance is no longer warranted.
The dispute was not 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 matter was referred to Labour Court on 9th October 2012 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A Labour Court hearing took place on 20th February, 2013
UNION'S ARGUMENT:
3 1 The location allowance should be reinstated to Nursing Staff currently assigned to the C.O.U. It is paid in other hospitals which operates such a Unit and the level of care necessary is the same that would be provided in the I.C.U, C.C.U and H.D.U.
COMPANY'S ARGUMENT:
4 1 It is not accepted that the level of care that is currently required necessitates the payment of the location allowance. The C.O.U cannot provide the same level of patient care that the previous Units provided.
RECOMMENDATION:
- The claim before the Court made by the Union on behalf of five nurses concerned a claim for the reinstatement of a location allowance paid to nurses working in the former High Dependency Unit, pending full implementation of the HSE Acute Medicine Programme.
This allowance discontinued on 26thMarch 2012 as at this point both the Intensive Care Unit and the High Dependency Unit had closed on foot of a HIQA report on smaller hospitals.
Pending implementation of the HSE Acute Medicine Programme a Clinical Observation Unit has been put in place in the Hospital, however this Unit does not attract payment of a location allowance. The Union submitted that the Claimants were denied the opportunity to transfer to a larger hospital where they could have retained their allowance and furthermore it submitted that the Clinical Observation Unit continues to provide a high dependency service, pending the outcome of the HSE Acute Medicine Programme.
Having considered the submission of both parties the Court recommends that those nurses who remained in St. John’s Hospital following the closure of both the ICU and HDU should have the location allowance reinstated and retained on a personal to holder basis while the Clinical Observation Unit is in transition, pending implementation of the HSE Acute Medicine Programme.
The Court so recommends.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Caroline Jenkinson
8th March 2013______________________
AHDeputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Andrew Heavey, Court Secretary.