ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00008742

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Anonymised Parties	Head of Department	Third Level Institute of Education

Dispute:

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-00011617-001	29/05/2017

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 21/01/2019

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Eugene Hanly

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.

Background:

The Worker is employed as a Head of Department. She raised a grievance that her employer has not addressed it. She is seeking compensation for the delay.

Summary of the Worker’s Case:

The Worker lodged a workplace grievance through the internal system, this is still on-going. She lodged a complaint with the WRC on 29th May 2017 and the matter has still not been addressed. Her grievance for this hearing is the undue delay in having her grievance addressed and brought to a conclusion. There was a lack of response from the Employer. Eventually towards the end of 2018 the grievance was heard and an outcome was issued on 17th January 2019. That outcome in now being considered by her. Her dispute with her Employer before this hearing concerns the undue delay in addressing her grievance and the frustration that this has caused to her. She is seeking compensation.

Summary of the Employer’s Case:

They stated that up to recently the HR function was outsourced and matters were not dealt with as they should. They accept that there was an undue delay in addressing her grievance. They stated that a new Head of College and a new Head of HR have been appointed. They moved quickly to resolve matters suitable to all parties. A number of meetings took place pre and post-Christmas 2018. An outcome has been given to the Worker for consideration. They did not expect that compensation would be sought and it was not claimed prior to the hearing. The claim for compensation is rejected.

Findings and Conclusions:

I find that it is accepted that there was an undue delay in processing and addressing the Worker’s grievance.

I note that new Heads of College and HR have been appointed.

I note that they have acted quickly in addressing this grievance and that an outcome was issued on 17th January following a number of meetings.

I note that the Worker is now considering that outcome.

I find that the Employer failed to act in a timely manner to address the Worker’s grievance and that is unacceptable.

I find that the Worker was justified in feeling frustrated with the way it was handled.

I find that the new Heads of College and HR have acted quickly and decisively to address this on-going dispute and have concluded the process.

I must commend their efforts in addressing the grievance.

However, this does not address the Worker’s concerns about her employer’s tardiness in dealing with her grievance.

I find that compensation is warranted.

Recommendation:

Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.]

I have considered the submissions made by both parties.

I recommend that the Employer pays the Worker compensation of €1,500 for the undue delay in addressing the Worker’s grievance.

This should be paid within six weeks of the date below.

Dated: 7th March 2019

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Eugene Hanly

Key Words:

Delay in dealing with a grievance