ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00011563
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Worker | Health Service Employer |
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-00015331-001 | 26/10/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 07/02/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emer O'Shea
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and/or 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).
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The claimant has been employed as a Chef with the respondent since 1997 and is aggrieved with the respondent’s failure to process complaints under the respondent’s Dignity at Work policy .The claimant first raised her concerns in 2011 when complaints were made against her by 2 colleagues who were not unidentified at the time . It was submitted that the claimant was suffering from work related stress and as far back as 2011 the Occupational Health Specialist reported that in her opinion a speedy resolution to the workplace stressors would have a positive impact on her recovery. It was submitted that following the initial lodging of the unsubstantiated complaints against her , the claimant lodged complaints against her line managers.It was submitted that no action was taken and a chronology of the ensuing exchanges between the claimant and the respondent was set out. Ultimately a meeting took place on the 1st.August 2017 which led to agreed action points which it was submitted were never implemented by the respondent .Examples of the issues raised by the claimant were presented and it was asserted that the claimant was now working in a toxic environment arising from the respondent’s inaction. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The respondent’s representative attended the hearing out of courtesy but indicated that he was unaware of the detail of the case and had no instructions on the matter. |
Recommendation
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.]
Having reviewed the evidence presented at the hearing I recommend that the respondent as a matter of urgency arrange for a formal investigation of the claimant’s complaints under the respondent’s dignity at work policy and undertake to have the investigation brought to a conclusion within a maximum time frame of 2 months from the date of this recommendation. |
Dated: 31 May 2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emer O'Shea