ADJ-00024731

Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

Call taker

Out of hours medical service

Representatives

Self - represented

Anne O'Connell Solicitors

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under the Industrial Relations Acts

CA-00031494-001

10/10/2019

The worker submits that she was unfairly dismissed at the end of her 6-month probationary period on 27 September 2019.

The worker contends that she was dismissed for two reasons. Firstly, she made a complaint of bullying against the respondent which centred on the behaviour of colleagues towards her at the training session on the 20 September 2019. The second reason for her dismissal was because she spoke in favour of requesting medical card numbers from callers seeking the respondent’s services.

Regarding the employer’s contention that she was dismissed because she refused to comply with their repeated instruction not to ask for medical card numbers from callers, she states that she was never advised that it was against company policy to do so until the 20 September which was seven days prior to her dismissal. Had she known it was a dismissible offence she would have ceased to request medical card numbers immediately.

She appealed the decision to dismiss her 1 October on but was denied an appeal.

She has taken up other employment on 1 November 2019 on fewer hours. Her loss is €772.

The employer operates an out of hours medical referral service.

The employer advised the worker on the 27 September that she had not passed her probationary period. The employer maintains that the worker’s employment was fairly terminated in accordance with her contract.

The employer terminated her employment after the worker emailed the employer on 23 September to state that she intended to continue asking callers for their medical card numbers despite having been expressly and repeatedly advised not to do so by her line manager on 20 September and on two previous occasions by the CEO. Her email of the 23 September demonstrated to them that she would refuse to be bound by their instructions.

The employer advised that the matter of asking callers for medical cards had been a practice unheard of until the worker commenced employment with them and had imported it from her previous employment. The employer viewed the practice as time- consuming, a barrier to other calls getting through, an impediment to the prompt onward referral of the patients’ medical details to the triage nurse and only necessary when the patient arrived at the medical centre to which they had been referred by the employer.

The worker’s contract of employment stated

“During your probationary period, the company’s disciplinary procedure will not apply”

The employer distinguishes this case from the Labour Court recommendation- Beechside Company Limited t/a The Park Hotel Kenmare v A Worker LCR21798. In that case the worker’s contract provided that all dismissals, including those effected during the probationary period were covered by the company’s disciplinary procedure, whereas in the instant case, dismissals at the end of a probationary period are expressly exempt from the reach of the employer’s disciplinary procedure.

The employer states that her employment was fairly terminated.

I recommend that the employer pay the worker the sum of €1500 in compensation for the loss of income and for the failure to apply a fair procedure in the termination of her employment.

Termination of probationary period; absence of procedure