ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00024997
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | Machinery Chargehand | Local Authority |
Complaint(s):
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-00031629-001 | 17/10/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 30/01/2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Marguerite Buckley
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969 following 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.
Background:
The Complainant started work in 1980 for the Respondent.
The claim related to a change in the acting rate/allowance payable to the Complainant when acting to cover absences of the machinery yard supervisor. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The worker was appointed charge hand to the machinery yard in December 1993. He had responsibility to cover the absences of the machinery yard supervisor.
In 2003 he began to receive an acting allowance when covering for the machinery yard supervisor when he was on annual leave or for sickness absence. It was agreed that he would be paid an acting rate going forward. The rate applied was on a point for point basis which the worker claimed was consistent with the rules applying to outdoor grades. This arrangement continued until early 2019.
The Complainant estimated that his losses were €1,770.61 gross. It submitted that the changes were unilateral and unjustified. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The worker was informed by the Employer there was a change to the rate he would be paid on for acting for the supervisor.
The Employer claimed that the point to point method which had been paid to date was in breach of department circular rules. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The worker was in receipt of an acting up allowance since 2003. Circulars set out and vary the basis on which the acting up allowance has been paid. This is common across the public service and is not unique to local government. Changes introduced by applicable Circulars were not applied to the worker’s acting up periods, through no fault of his own. The employer claims that this resulted in an overpayment to the worker. That was an error on its part. The Employer should not seek to recoup same. The employer is now following a Circular which has resulted in a loss of salary to the worker when acting up. This would have occurred had the Circular been followed when it was introduced in 2012. |
Decision:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
With the aim of closing off this dispute, I recommend that the worker accept the application of the Circulars quoted in the Employers letter of the 7th May 2019 and I recommend the Employer pay to the Worker an ex-gratia payment of €650.00 which is compensation for changes to his acting up allowance that had continued on a custom and practice basis despite the Circulars that were introduced. This is a once off payment and is unique to the facts and circumstances of this case and is not to be used a precedent. |
Dated: 01/09/2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Marguerite Buckley
Key Words:
Changes to acting up allowance |