Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

An Employee

A Public Body

Representatives

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-00019955-001

22/06/2018

The Complainant requests permanency in her role and grade.

The Complainant has been employed by the Respondent since 2003. She has been fulfilling a role at a higher grade since 2013. She and some of her colleagues have been filling their roles with the genuine expectation of permanency. She believed once a period of 4 years had passed, she would be designated the permanent post. The Complainant further submits that she and her colleagues have been treated less favourably than others in her section. She is working in the same shared environment as 10 other colleagues, many of whom have received the permanent grade and title.   It is argued that while the moratorium was in place, 2008 to 2016, 4 employees at the lower grade were made permanent to the higher grade with no interviews and with pay backdated. The complainant feels very aggrieved at the situation which has developed and particularly now when it appears she may have to compete against many thousands of others as the promise of permanency has not been fulfilled and the grade to which she is fully entitled is now going to competition.

The Complainant has a contract of indefinite duration and is a permanent member of staff.   She was assigned on temporary higher appointment at Grade IV level. A fixed term/specified purpose contract was issued to her which documented that the arrangement would cease on a particular date or when a permanent appointment is made, whichever is the sooner. Circular 17/2013 addresses the regularisation of acting posts. Any post, for which regularisation was proposed must have been acted in on a continuous basis for at least 2 years at 31st December 2012. In this case, the Complainant did not meet the criteria. The process to regularise all posts encompassed by 17/2013 ceased on 30th June 2014. In early 2016, management in the Complainant’s particular area sought to progress the filling of posts in the said area as there were a number of temporary contracts in place which exceeded 12 months. The National Service which is responsible for all recruitment activity and for permanent filling of the higher posts is currently carrying out the process.   This is a requirement which is required to comply with the strict terms of the approval process.   Consequently there are no mechanisms available to seek that the current incumbent of long term temporary higher appointments be designated into permanent posts, and the permanent filling of all temporary higher appointments will be from the National panel via the National Recruitment Service.