Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

A Multi Task Attendant

A Health   Service Employer

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint    seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13    of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969

CA-00009444-001

31/01/2017

There are a number of historical events which the   complainant feels were not dealt with appropriately by Management.

The Complainant works as a multi task attendant. She had complaints about the way her   Catering Supervisor treated her. These   issues dated back to 2012 and 2014.   She tried to raise the issues through her shop steward at one point,   but the Supervisor hung up on the shop steward, when he phoned her to discuss them. Attempts to address her issues left her   feeling frustrated and stressed, and at one point she was out sick from stress and no one from management contacted   her to see how she was. At another point   she referred herself to Occupational Health. Following this, a meeting was   scheduled to take place between the Complainant, the Supervisor and Employee   Relations and the Union. However, the   Supervisor told the Complainant that the meeting would only take one minute   and the Complainant therefore felt it was a hopeless situation and the   meeting did not proceed.   There were   further incidents in July 2015 and August 2015 which were of a serious and   violent nature and no proper action was taken by management to investigate   these situations. One involved   throwing of cutlery and the other of intentional damage to one of the   Complainant’s runners in her locker.   In November 2015, a further incident took place after which the   Complainant complained to the Operations Manager that she was being bullied   and harassed by the Supervisor.           An investigation was to take place but no one was interviewed and the   Operations Manager found that comments made were not directed at the   Complainant alone.   The Complainant   was referred to Occupational Health and attended on 8^th February   2016. She has consistently raised the   issues ongoing in her workplace and feels that she has been subject of unfair   treatment and lack of care towards her from management.   There is another Supervisor currently in   place and while that has alleviated the situation somewhat, the Complainant   still fears the adverse treatment could resume at any stage.   She is seeking an investigation into her   bullying complaint and compensation for her sick leave absences and   treatment.

The Complainant is part of a 65 person team. Over the course of a considerable period of   time she raised three issues with management.   Incident one was closed when the Complainant and her Union Rep told   management that she was not proceeding with the meeting to discuss, and was   instead referring it further in the Union structure. Incident two was concluded when the staff   member agreed to meet and apologise to the Complainant, and the Complainant   advised that she did not accept the apology.   Incident three (damaged runner) was handled by the Catering Manager   who established that it was not possible to establish what happened in the   absence of CCTV in that particular area.     The Complainant had advised that she was referring the matter to the   Gardai.           It is contended that   management took her concerns seriously and took appropriate steps to address   her issues.

The incidents which gave rise to the Complainant’s   grievance go back to 2012. While there   were some flaws in Management’s initial handling of her complaints, I note   that in recent correspondence the Management especially in the letter dated   15^th November 2016 to the Union OfficiaI, tried as far as possible   to address the Complainant’s concerns.     In the circumstances, I suggest that a full new investigation will not   yield a satisfactory outcome for the Complainant, especially as a significant   number of witnesses are not willing to give evidence, as submitted by the   Respondent in this case.   I accept the   Complainant’s evidence that she has been stressed by the lack of proper   investigation at the early stage of her grievance. I also note that she is now under new   management.                                                   I recommend that she be given a letter of comfort that provides   assurance to her regarding her reporting position. Given that the Complainant was on sick   leave due to the situation, and accepting that the handling of the matter at   the early stage was tardy, I recommend that the Respondent offer the   Complainant a compensatory sum of €2,000.