ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00009283
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-00012237-001 | 01/07/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 05/01/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Procedure:
In accordance with 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 dismissed after raising concerns about the back log in washing clients garments. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant was employed by the Respondent for five months . In November and December 2016 she notified the respondent of a back log of client laundry which had not been completed by another staff member. That staff member became aware of the Complainants report to Management and she came into work a week later one day while off duty and remonstrated with a number of staff about the complaint, including the Complainant and her sister. The incident was reported to HR and was investigated but some statements were not taken and some statements did not include the Complainants account of events. The Complainant was dismissed on the word of a Nurse and the Complainant feels this was totally unjust as both the person whom she complained about and her sister were not admonished and remain in employment while the Complainant was dismissed. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
A Representative of the Respondent attended the opening of the Hearing and advised the Hearing that they had objected to the case being heard by the WRC Adjudicator but were out of time in that objection and they advised they would not be engaging in the Hearing. |
Decision:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute
The Complainant was seeking a Recommendation that her employment was terminated unfairly. However, as this is an Industrial Relations claim and not an Unfair Dismissals claim and in the situation where the Respondent has chosen not to engage in the industrial relations issue I see little value in pursuing this line of inquiry as the Complainant does not have one years service. The Complainant case is that she was severely punished by dismissal when she in fact raised the grievance regarding the left over laundry. Other staff statements were given greater credence to the Complainants due to her lack of service compared to the other staff. This does not seem to be good grounds for establishing the facts in this case. Based on the Complainants evidence (and no contribution from the Respondent) it is hard to conclude otherwise that the Complainant was harshly treated in all the circumstances of this case. As the Complainant has found meaningful and a top job suited to her education qualifications I see no value in making any other recommendation in this case other than the circumstances as presented by the Complainant would suggest she was unfairly penalised by being dismissed when other staff were treated more favourably.
Dated: 10/05/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Key Words:
Dismissal |