FULL RECOMMENDATION
SECTION 13(9), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1969 PARTIES : TESCO IRELAND LIMITED (REPRESENTED BY IBEC) - AND - A WORKER (REPRESENTED BY INDEPENDENT WORKERS UNION) DIVISION : Chairman: Mr Foley Employer Member: Ms Doyle Worker Member: Ms Tanham |
1. Appeal of Adjudication Officer's Decision No: ADJ-00001541.
BACKGROUND:
2. This case concerns a claim by the appellant that she had been the victim of bullying and harassment. The matter was referred to an Adjudication Officer for Investigation and Recommendation. The Adjudication Officer issued his Recommendation on 7 July 2016 and the Worker appealed the Decision to the Labour Court in accordance with Section 13(9) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969.
A Labour Court hearing took place on 13 December 2017. The following is the Determination of the Court:
DECISION:
This matter comes before the Court as an appeal of a decision of an Adjudication Officer in a complaint by Barbara Maciejewska (the Appellant) made on 21stJanuary 2016 under the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 (the Act) that her former employer TESCO Ireland (the Respondent) had been responsible for bullying and harassment of her.
The Adjudication Officer, in a decision dated 7thJuly 2016, found that the complaint was not well founded and dismissed the complaint.
The appeal to the Court was received on 17thAugust 2016.
Position of the Appellant
The Appellant contended that she had raised a range of issues in her employment related to Safety, Health and Welfare. She contended that the Respondent had not dealt adequately with her complaints and that the various staff of the Respondent had not responded properly and appropriately to the matters she raised. She contended that the Respondent had not dealt appropriately with particular Health, Safety and Welfare matters affecting her and causing her to be absent from her workplace. She contended that the behaviour of the Respondent amounted to Bullying and Harassment.
Position of the Respondent
The Respondent submitted that it had in place a comprehensive policy as regards Bullying in the workplace. Those procedures, according to the respondent, contained details of arrangements in place to facilitate the reporting of Bullying and Harassment and the raising by staff of complaints of Bullying and Harassment. The Respondent submitted that the Appellant was fully aware of the Respondent’s policy as regards Bullying and Harassment at work. The Respondent submitted that no complaint of Bullying or Harassment had been made by the Appellant in accordance with the policy and the Respondent consequently had no opportunity to address any issue she may have had through the procedures in place for the purpose.
Recommendation
The Court has given careful consideration to the contentions of the Appellant that she was Bullied and Harassed by staff of the Respondent. The Appellant asserted at the hearing that the basis for her complaint was the alleged failure of staff of the Respondent to deal adequately with her complaints as regards Health and Safety in the workplace. She also contended that the Appellant had failed to effectively operate the terms of the sick pay scheme of the Respondent.
The Court is concerned that the essence of the Appellant’s complaints relates to the manner of dealing with matters of Health and Safety in the employment. The Court notes that extensive infrastructure is in place to deal with matters of Health and Safety and is of the view that such issues fall outside the normal ambit of industrial relations. The Court can find no basis to conclude that the response of the Respondent to the Appellant’s raising of Health and Safety matters amounts to bullying by the Respondent.
The Court has examined the detail submitted as regards the operation of the sick pay scheme of the Respondent and can find no basis for the contention that the scheme was operated inappropriately. In any event the Court cannot conclude from the material submitted that the Respondent’s manner of operation of the scheme amounted to Bullying or Harassment.
The Court notes that the Appellant at no time raised a complaint under the procedures in place in the Respondent company to deal with Bullying and Harassment.
In all the circumstances the Court cannot uphold the complaint of the Appellant.
The decision of the Adjudication Officer is affirmed.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Kevin Foley
19 December 2017.______________________
MNChairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Decision should be addressed to John Deegan, Court Secretary.