Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

 A beauty therapist

 A hotel and country club.

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-00027554-001

05/04/2019

The Complainant is a beauty therapist employed by the Respondent since 3^rd March 2017.

This complaint was received by the Workplace Relations Commission on 5^th April 2019.

I have been employed as a Beauty Therapist with the Respondent since March 2017. Recently I raised concerns to my Manager about frequent errors in the booking system which have been made by her as I have had numerous customers complain who booked through her and mentioned her name.

This creates a very stressful environment for me to deal with on top of a booked-up day with no breaks as the manager is not always present to deal with her responsibilities. I was told I would not be getting my 30-minute breaks but 15 minutes here and there which when you work 9.30am to 6.00pm is not adequate, and due to wrong bookings, I have no time for any break at all.

My manager knows I suffer with Crohns disease and how I need to have food and a rest,  this was not met. On the 2nd of March I arrived into work with questions in relation to an incident regarding a wrong booking asking her was it rectified to which the blame was put on to me and how I have the story wrong, I also mentioned how she accused us of robbing items from the Salon.

Complaints of filth of the rooms, the manager got very defensive and very hostile, so I had no other option but to leave the premises. I immediately met the duty manager to explain the situation and left as I was very upset. I would not be returning to this hostile work environment until

there are changes made to the running of the salon, a grievances meeting was set up with Helen on the 8th of March but without any other manager to witness. I spoke about her being hostile to which she aggressively replied "that’s just who I am, I am a hostile person" , she again got defensive about wrong bookings and I asked her why she called me "good girl" and nobody else and why I was asked for my qualifications 2 years after I commenced work there which is highly insulting.

The meeting was very stressful, I left feeling nothing would be done.

Since then I have given my manager medical certificates in which my doctor excuses me from work for 6 weeks due to work related stress. I have lost weight and I have had a flare up from my Crohns from this ordeal.

On the 22nd of March I received an email from the Manager asking me to contact my Doctor and give him a letter she had typed out asking him about my illness and she asks my doctor "what type of tests are carried out to determine this person is suffering from work related stress?" "Have you referred them to a consultant?”

 I told the Manager if she has these questions for my Doctor ask him. I find this extremely unprofessional to ask me while I am ill to give that letter to him asking of the validity of his diagnosis. I visited my doctor and told him of this to which he said she is asking him to breach patient confidentiality and he will never disclose my medical history and he has never been asked to do this before and this is a form of harassment.

People suffering from a chronic illness should let be until they are well and fit for work again. Due to this ongoing stress from my manager I am not fit for work.

The Complainant has alleged that she is being bullied and harassed, from her complaint it is difficult to see where this is happening.

The Complainant has raised a number of issues, the first of these is the booking system. The Respondent manager met with the Complainant to discuss these issues and agreed that additional training would be provided for the Complainant.

On the subject of breaks it was stated by the Respondent that they were not aware that the Complainant was not missing her breaks from time to time.

In relation to additional hours requested by the Complainant when these were offered the Complainant failed to avail of additional hours offered on reception duties.

The Respondent also point to the fact that the Complainant did not avail of training when offered by the product company supported by the Respondent.

In relation to the training offered but not availed of by the Complainant it was brought into focus when a customer complained that she was not satisfied with the outcome of the Complainant’s work.

Generally, there were a number of areas that required attention, these included but were not limited to items of equipment going missing and treatment rooms not being cleaned. There were no direct allegations made to the complainant, despite the Complainant believing that the allegations were being aimed at her.

The Respondent contends that in line with good practice and HSE guidelines the Respondent did send an email to the Complainant asking her to send a letter to her doctor. The purpose of this letter was to establish what remedial action the doctor was taking to remedy the problem. At no point was the Respondent looking for patient confidential information but merely “questioning the expert”.

With the information received from the Complainant the Respondent did write directly to the GP, no reply was received. The Respondent then goes onto say that under the duty of care they were referring the Complainant to their own Occupational Health Specialist.

This complaint was referred under the Industrial Relations Act 1969.

The Respondent was represented at the hearing by a representative from a HR Consultancy.

It is obvious that the Respondent has some employee relations problems and that the management in the Respondent organisation are in need of some training in this regard. Training in the basics of Human Resource Management is required as is the implementation of some policies and procedures put in place and how these are to be used.

The Complainant has been absent from work since March 2019 and she needs to get better before a return to work can be considered. A referral to an Occupational Health Specialist may be of some benefit in this regard.

The Complainant feels that she has been bullied at the hands of her manager and treated with hostility by the same manager.

When things go wrong there appears to be a tendency of looking for someone to blame rather than an approach of working together to make things better.

I have considered this complaint very carefully and whilst I believe the Complainant has been poorly treated, such treatment has not been malicious on the part of the Respondent.  At this point I recommend a payment of compensation to the Complainant of €2,000.

This compensation payment should be made within 42 days from the date of this recommendation.

As outlined above.

Industrial Relations Complaint.