ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00007620
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | A Nurse | A Charity |
Complaint(s):
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-00010251-001 | 15/03/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 30/08/2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969 following the referral of the complaint(s)/dispute(s) to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint(s)/dispute(s) and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint(s)/dispute(s).
Background:
The Complainant was seeking a change in grade from CNM1 to CNM2. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant is a qualified Nurse doing the work of a CNM2 since October 2013. She raised internal grievances seeking this change but to no avail. She was transferred to a new area of work and was told she would be a Community/Domiciliary Nurse which is normally paid at CNM2. She attended a meeting where all staff were informed that contracts would be changed to reflect their position. Management have said that approval of the change is outside their control and the INMO dispute this. HSE Circular 17/2013 enables an employer to remunerate employees on the salary scale of the grade they are acting up on if they are in that position for more than 3 months. The Complainant is seeking backdating of her upgrade to October 2013 and on a go forward basis to be classified as a CNM2.
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Summary of Respondent’s Case:
In 2014 the Complainant applied for and was granted Senior Nurse status. In 2013 the Complainant was transferred to an area where there are 3 staff doing similar work as CNM1’s. The Complainants case was submitted by the Respondent to the relevant Governance Group in January 2017 for review and are awaiting a decision. The Respondent cannot make a decision on its own in this case and need approval for any change and the Governance Group sought and were provided with further information on the claim and the Respondent is hopeful of a decision soon.
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Decision:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
As this claim is now over 4 years in existence the Complainant is entitled to an answer, either way, to her claim from the Respondent. While accepting that the Respondent hands may have been tied up to now by external factors, I recommend that the claim be finally evaluated and the Complainant be given a definitive decision on her claim within three months of todays date. In the event that the Complainants claim is rejected, or that she is not given a definitive answer at the end of that three month time frame, she may submit a new claim to the WRC (or other body) for consideration and recommendation in that event and the Respondent accepts that all internal avenues of appeal are completed at this stage.
Dated: 08/09/2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Key Words:
Change in grade claim |