ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference:
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | Paramedic | Public Body |
Representatives | Graham Finlay |
Complaint/Dispute:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
CA-00027103-001 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing:
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer:
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 andSection 13 of the IndustrialRelations Acts 1969 following the referral of the complaint/dispute to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint/dispute and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint/dispute.
Background:
The referral of this dispute stated that the issue concerns ill health early retirement and recognition of service. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
An extensive written submission was made summarised as follows: The Complainant commenced working for the Respondent in 1999 and had 18 years’ service when he went out on long term sick leave with serious illness in 2017. Since then, his Union has been trying to secure recognition for him for a further 18 years’ service with the Fire Service and he also had 3 years’ service with a Nursing Home. It is the contention of the Complainant that he is being forced out of his job due to the fact that a number of meetings were held about him in his absence. This he believes has damaged his character and good name. A number of meetings were held to address this matter to no avail. The Complainant seeks compensation for this. He seeks at least 36 years’ service plus added years which it is recognised is at the discretion of the Respondent. It should be noted that in some cases, (e.g. Adjudication Finding in 2015 in relation to incremental credit for the Courts Service) the case was conceded for recognition. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent replied in a verbal submission summarised as follows: The Complainant has been out on long term sick leave since May 2017. There has been an extension of his sick leave under critical illness provisions. There were a number of delays referring the Complainant to Occupational Health due to various issues. The Respondent is not opposed to the Complainant’s retirement on ill health and was awaiting reports from Occupational Health. The Respondent is not in a position to recognise his service with the Fire Service. There is no problem with incremental credit. However, service is a separate issue and service cannot be recognised as continuous when it is not transferable. |
Recommendation:
I note the Complainant has not given his consent to his retirement on ill health and this is reflected in the most recent Occupational Health Report dated 9th May 2019 which states “Mr (Complainant) has stated today that he does not want to retire on ill health grounds and has not given his consent to be assessed for Ill Health Retirement”. I recommend that the parties (The Complainant, his Union Official and the Respondent) engage in discussions to clarify the Complainant’s position on ill health retirement. I also recommend that the Respondent examine the Complainant’s claim in relation to recognition of service, particularly the 3 years’ service in the Nursing Home which may be taken into account for assessing service. In relation to the Complainant’s claim for compensation, other than some general observations regarding damage to his name, it was unclear to me what the actual claim concerns and I cannot recommend compensation for this issue.
Dated: 17th September 2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: