ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00024710
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | An Employee | A Technology Company |
Complaint(s):
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-00031432-001 | 08/10/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 10/12/2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Marian Duffy
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 worked as an intern with the respondent from 9th July 2018 to the 28th June 2019 when her internship was completed. She said that during her employment she was sexually harassed by a colleague and made a complaint to her manager on the 20th June 2019. She attended a meeting with HR on the 26th June 2019 at which she gave an account of her complaint. She was advised that the matter would be investigated and that she would be informed of the outcome. Her internship came to an end on the 28th June 2019 and despite several attempts to find out the outcome of the investigation she was not informed of the outcome. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The respondent stated that as soon as the complaint was received they commenced an investigation in accordance with the Grievance Procedures. When the investigation concluded the complainant’s, internship had finished, and she was no longer in the office for a discussion to take place and to advise her of the outcome of her sexual harassment complaint. HR Manager wrote to her in August to tell her that her complaint had been upheld. The HR manager intended to send it by email as well, but his laptop was stolen. It only became apparent to the respondent that the complainant had not received the letter advising her of the outcome of the investigation when they received the complaint from the WRC. The HR manager immediately wrote to the complainant to address the issues she raised and to advise her of the outcome of the investigation. |
Findings and Conclusions:
It was agreed that the issue would be resolved between the parties on the following basis: The respondent will follow up with an acknowledgement of the complainants concerns and address the issues. The respondent will outline to the complainant the future improvements which will be made in relation to the grievance policies. |
Decision:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
I recommend that the above terms be implemented to settle the dispute |
Dated: 17th April 2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Marian Duffy
Key Words:
Industrial Relations Act 1969, |