ADJUDICATION RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00020765
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A supervisor | A local authority |
Representatives | Forsa Trade Union | None |
Dispute:
Act | Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 | CA-00027380-001 | 29/03/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 27/05/2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Kevin Baneham
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969following the referral of the dispute to me by the Director General, I inquired into the dispute and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the dispute.
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The complainant lodged a grievance to his employer on the 11th December 2018. This related to the respondent’s decision to transfer his location of work. He sought to progress the grievance with the respondent as he felt that the reassignment was not appropriate. The complainant accepted that the respondent could reassign staff for operational reasons, but an employee should still be able to progress their grievance. While managers had offered to meet the complainant informally, this would have been outside the grievance procedure itself. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The respondent’s case is that the issue raised by the complainant does not fall within its grievance procedure. The respondent is at liberty to assign staff to ensure the efficient delivery of services. There are dozens of reassignments every month so it could not deal with each as a grievance. The email of the 21st December 2018 sets out the respondent’s reasoning for moving the complainant. It offered to meet the complainant and to deal with this informally. The issue should not form part of an official grievance. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The Code of Practice on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures (SI146/2000) sets out the principles underlying grievance procedures, including that employee grievances should be fairly examined and processed. The respondent sought to re-assign the complainant to a different location of work and the complainant wished to raise a grievance about this. Decisions regarding an employee’s location of work are part and parcel of the employment relationship. They are not excluded from the scope of the respondent grievance procedure and there is no alternative, formal way for the complainant to raise his concerns. I, therefore, recommend that the respondent processes the complainant’s grievance in line with its grievance procedure. |
Recommendation:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
CA-00027380-001 I recommend that the respondent processes the complainant’s grievance of the 11th December 2018 in line with its grievance procedure. |
Dated: 25/07/19
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Kevin Baneham
Key Words:
Grievance Procedure / SI 146/2000 |