FULL RECOMMENDATION
SECTION 13(9), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1969 PARTIES : DOMESTIC & GENERAL PROPERTY SUPPORT SERVICES LIMITED - AND - A WORKER (REPRESENTED BY MARIUS MAROSAN) DIVISION : Chairman: Ms O'Donnell Employer Member: Mr Murphy Worker Member: Mr McCarthy |
1. An appeal of an Adjudication Officer's Decision no: ADJ-00011308.
BACKGROUND:
2. This case is an appeal of an Adjudication Officer’s Recommendation by a Worker. On the 2 August 2018 the Adjudication Officer issued the following Recommendation:-
- “This part of the complaint fails.
I do not like the wording of the supervisor's text dated Wednesday 12th April that reads as follows:
"Hi girls, this will be the last time when I will tell you that first time when you arrive you need to do little picking around the building. Chris was very angry today as the place is not looking good. The toilets are not good again, so I see that the standards are dropped and I won't accept this. If you don't keep up the standards you will be moved. Take this as a last warning. Thanks Anca".
In light of the above I would recommend that the Respondent arranges a training programme for all supervisory staff of the subject of good management practice that would include the basics of employment legislation".
A Labour Court hearing took place on the 8 January 2018.
DECISION:
This case is an appeal by a Worker of the Decision of an Adjudication Officer. The issue in dispute between the parties is the Worker’s claim that she was bullied and harassed in the workplace.
The Worker’s representative in his submission to the Court stated that the Worker experienced problems at work caused by her new Supervisor. In support of this contention he referred the Court to a text sent by the Supervisor to a number of staff commenting on the standard of the work being carried out, advising that the Client was not happy with the work and that if standards were not improved they would be moved. The Worker’s representative submitted that there were other texts but he did not have copies of them. It was the Worker’s position that these texts constituted bullying and harassment. The Worker’s representative confirmed to the Court that the Worker had received copies of the Employer’s policies but had not invoked any of the policies and had only raised the issue of bullying and harassment after she had left the employment.
The Employer’s position is that no issue was ever raised with them and if it had been they would have dealt with same through their policies. All staff had been given copies of the policies. The only specific that has been brought to their attention is the text set out in the Worker’s submission and no other details of complaints have been provided. The Employer could not be expected to address issues that had not been brought to its attention.
The Court, having considered the submissions of the parties, finds that the text being relied on cannot constitute bullying and harassment as defined in the Company’s Employment Handbook.
The appeal fails and the Decision of the Adjudication Officer is amended accordingly.
The Court so decides.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Louise O'Donnell
CC______________________
29 January 2019Deputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Decision should be addressed to Ceola Cronin, Court Secretary.