ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00019432
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | Clerical Admin employee | Disability Support Service |
Complaint:
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-00025360-001 | 28/01/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 | CA-00025361-001 | 28/01/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 31/07/2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Gaye Cunningham
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969 following the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint.
Background:
The Complainant contends that the Respondent has impeded her progress with a job evaluation application. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant completed a job evaluation form which was signed off by her manager and it was presumed to have been sent to Human Resources on 19th June 2018. Some 4 months later, having made enquiries, the Complainant discovered that it was not sent as there was an internal review of her office. This was a surprise to the Complainant as she was not aware of any such review. Following representations from the union with no response, the matter was referred to the WRC. The HR Director then met with the Complainant in February 2019 and having made some amendments, forwarded the form to the relevant office. This was 8 months after the Complainant had originally sent in her application. When she did not receive an acknowledgement an email was sent on 31st May and 5th June 2019 to HR requesting evidence of same. A standard reply was received stating that job evaluation could be contacted by email and the application date must be submitted. A further email was sent to HR requesting the date but no reply was received. It is submitted that the Complainant has been treated badly in that Management failed initially to process her application, have repeatedly failed to reply to requests for information and the Complainant still has no concrete evidence to show that her application has been submitted. The Complainant seeks compensation for the breach of process and lengthy delays in implementing their own procedures in a timely manner. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent’s position is that the Complainant’s application for job evaluation has been sent in to the Job Evaluation Office. However, the Respondent does not have the exact date. There are massive delays in the Job Evaluation office and it is believed they are only processing the applications from January so far. |
Recommendation:
References CA-00025260-001 and CA-00025361-001 refer to the same complaint/dispute.
The Complainant submitted her original application for job evaluation in June 2018. While it is understandable that management may have wished to have an input the situation did not become clear to the Complainant that her application was or was not submitted until February 2019. This is an inexcusable delay and the situation is exacerbated by the fact that management still do not know what date the application was sent in. This is hampering the Complainant from receiving an acknowledgement or finding out what progress is being made. The delay and lack of information is unacceptable. I recommend that the Respondent immediately advise the Complainant of the date that her application was sent in to the Job Evaluation office and compensate her in the amount of €3,000.
Dated: 24/09/19
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Gaye Cunningham
Key Words:
Job evaluation application delays. |