FULL RECOMMENDATION
SECTION 20(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1969 PARTIES : DUBLIN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (REPRESENTED BY IRISH BUSINESS AND EMPLOYERS' CONFEDERATION) - AND - A WORKER DIVISION : Chairman: Ms O'Donnell Employer Member: Ms Doyle Worker Member: Mr McCarthy |
1. Complaint Of Bullying And Harrassment.
BACKGROUND:
2. The worker referred his case to the Labour Court on the 10th December, 2018, in accordance with Section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969. A Labour Court hearing took place on the 14th February, 2019. The following is the Court's recommendation:
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. The Worker states he was penalised without fair procedures or due process following the lodgement of a complaint.
2. The Worker states the Employer continuously breached their own policies and procedures in dealing with this complaint.
3.The Worker states the Employer conducted a flawed investigation into his complaint.
COMPANY'S ARGUMENTS:
4. 1.The Company is compliant with all employment law requirements concerning dispute resolution.
2. The Company complies with all internal dispute resolution mechanisms.
3. The Workers retain the option, having exhausted internal mechanisms, to refer a complaint to a third party.
RECOMMENDATION:
This is a complaint by the Worker under s20 (1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 (the Act) in respect of a number of work related issues that are in dispute between the Worker and his Employer. The Employer attended at the Labour Court but had declined to attend an Adjudication hearing into the disputed issues.
The Representative for the Worker submitted to the Court that the Workers grievances could be summed up as follows 1) that he was subjected to a disciplinary process that was not initiated in accordance with the Employer’s procedures and 2) a complaint he had made had not been properly addressed.
The Representative for the Employer submitted to the Court that no formal disciplinary process had been initiated. In response to a question from the Court relating to correspondence that the Worker had received requesting that he take specific steps which could be construed as disciplinary action, they undertook to remove all such documentation and reference to such documentation from his file.
Regarding the second issue the Employer indicated that it felt the issues could be best addressed by a Mediation process involving the parties concerned. To this end the Employer confirmed to the Court that if such a process was agreeable the mediator would be an external person.
Having read the submissions of the parties and listened carefully to the oral submissions on the day the Court recommends that the documentation referred to above be removed from the Worker’s file and that the parties enter into a mediation process facilitated by an external Mediator to restore the working relationship. This Mediation process to be put in place at the earliest opportunity.
The Court so recommends.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Louise O'Donnell
TH______________________
28 February 2019Deputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Therese Hickey, Court Secretary.