ADJ-00008489

Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

A Clinical Nurse Manager

Public Service Provider

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-00011042-001

28/04/2017

The claim is that the Complainant should be re-aligned to Clinical Nurse Specialist grade.

The Complainant is a Clinical Nurse Manager 2 (CNM2) working in Palliative Care and is highly qualified having completed a Post Graduate Higher Diploma in April 2012, the Nurse Prescribing course through the Royal College of Surgeons in May 2014 and an MSc in Palliative Care in June 2017.   Since qualifying in palliative care nursing, the complainant has provided the same level of expertise; works as part of the palliative care team and carries out all the core duties and has the same responsibilities as a Clinic Nurse Specialist (Palliative Care).   The Complainant had formally raised her claim in 2013 and subsequently,   two Business Cases were made by management.    In 2015 she was appointed as a Temporary CNM2.   The position of the Complainant and her Union was that she should be regularised into the post as a CNS and regularisation under Circular 17/2013 was sought. It was found that she did not meet the criteria for regularisation but the Arbitrator stated that due regard to her period of acting up in the position should be given when a permanent filling of the position is contemplated.  The Pay scales are the same so the situation would be cost neutral.    In August 2017 the Union wrote to the Respondent regarding an advertisement for CNS positions in the area. The response was that this was not the same position as the one in dispute.                     The Complainant is currently on a panel and she is the next person to be called from that panel.         It is argued that similar cases were successful before Rights Commissioners/Adjudicators in the past few years and that this claim should succeed in line with the previous ones.              

The Complainant was appointed to a CNM2 position on a temporary basis in 2015. She sought to have her position regularised as per Circular 017/2013. This was rejected as she did not meet the timeframes set out by the Circular.   Her appeal was heard by the Independent Arbitrator as per the National Agreement / process set up following a referral to the Oversight Body of the Haddington Road Agreement. The Arbitrator did not uphold her appeal.   It is argued that the outcome of this appeal is binding on both parties. The Respondent argues that this case has been through a National process and any deviation would completely undermine a nationally agreed process which was set up with the staff associations in accordance with the Croke Park/Haddington Road Dispute Resolution process.

There is no doubt that the Complainant is a highly qualified Nurse performing the specialist duties of palliative care. Her management have made business cases that she is performing the duties of CNS.   The Arbitrator in his decision of 17th May 2016 stated that “due regard to your period of acting up in this position should be given when the permanent filling of this position is contemplated”.                       I note the Complainant is currently next on a panel for the area and I recommend that the Respondent takes steps to fill that vacancy immediately and takes into account the Arbitrator’s remarks when filling it.