LCR21246

The Complainant was employed by the Respondent from March 1985 and continues in employment. At all material times he occupied the post of Station Officer in the Retained Fire Service.

The recommendation of the Adjudication Officer / Rights Commissioner was appealed by the Complainant and the Respondent.

Position of the parties

The Complainant

The Complainant contended that he had made numerous complaints about firefighters at the fire station where he was deployed. The Complainant contended that these complaints were not acted upon. The Complainant contended for example that a disciplinary sanction applied to a firefighter about whom he had complained was not appropriately severe. The Complainant stated that he had experienced isolation from his managers and his subordinates. The Complainant contended that staff relations at the fire station were fractured and the Complainant’s management did not help to mend this.

The Respondent

The Respondent stated to the Court that the complaint it understood to have been made under the Act related to a contention by the Complainant that he had been bullied and harassed by his managers. The Respondent contended that it had in place extensive procedures to ensure that employees were in a position to raise complaints or grievances as regards any matter causing concern within the employment. The Respondent stated to the Court that the Complainant, as Station Officer in the fire station, would be aware of all relevant procedures.

Discussion

This matter arises from a set of facts which have been the subject of separate complaints by the Complainant in accordance with the provisions of certain other legislation. In the within case the Complainant identifies what he contends are failings on the part of management in the Retained Fire Service and seeks a recommendation from the Court.

The Respondent asserts that it has in place comprehensive procedures to facilitate employees to pursue and process grievances. The Respondent asserts that no grievance has been raised through those procedures in relation to any matter referred to in the within case.

Recommendation

The Court supports fully a framework for pursuit of grievances founded on clear and appropriate internal procedures in the first instance. It is clear that the Complainant in this case had available to him at all times procedures to process any grievance he may have had as regards the conduct of colleagues or management towards him. Engagement with the established procedures would, at a minimum, have given the Respondent an opportunity to deal appropriately with any issue raised. The complainant failed to engage with those procedures.

In all the circumstances the Court recommends that the Complainant raise any grievance he may have through the established grievance procedures of the Respondent. In addition the Court recommends that the Respondent consult with appropriate staff and their representatives with a view to jointly engaging with the Advisory Service of the Workplace Relations Commission to review the conduct of employment relations in the fire station. The decision of the Adjudication Officer / Rights Commissioner is accordingly set aside.

Signed on behalf of the Labour Court



Kevin Foley
LS______________________
7 June 2016Deputy Chairman



NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Decision should be addressed to Louise Shally, Court Secretary.