Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

An Employee

A Youth & Community Centre

Representatives

none 

 none

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-00035012-001

04/03/2020

The complainant is employed as a Youth Worker. In January 2019, a complaint was raised against the complainant which has not been resolved to date.

Three Board members who were involved with the investigation attended the remote hearing together with the complainant.

The complainant had a verbal altercation with the manager of the Youth and Community centre, in a very public manner. Arising from this the complainant was instructed that there was a complaint against her by the chair of the Board.

This matter has yet to be resolved although the Board of Directors stated that she it would not accept her resignation and that she should continue to be paid.

Following difficulties with the Manager of the Centre, the Board instructed the complainant that she should submit medical certificates to continue being paid.

The respondent indicated that it did not provide a copy of the written complaint to the complainant.   It indicated that when it undertook to investigate this complaint, the centres manager indicated that he would not communicate with the Board in relation to these matters, eventually stating that he would listen to what they had to say but would not answer any questions regarding the matter.

One board member indicated that the Manager of the Centre was a good fundraiser but that his ‘management and interpersonal skills leave a lot to be desired.’

The Board of Directors indicated that it did not conclude matters pending the resolution of this dispute and the outcome of this decision.

I find that the procedures operated by the respondent fell short of that which an employee can expect of an employer and that the procedures were not communicated with staff members. This in turn meant that staff were not sure of what to expect in an investigation, formal or informal, and were not sure what was expected of them.

I find that persons about who a complaint was made were not given access to the complaint, and accordingly were not sure of what they were trying to account for.

I find that there has been a fundamental failure of communication within the respondent organisation at a number of levels which has served to exacerbate the situation in relation to this complaint.

I find that staff are treated without respect and in an environment where it appears that fear and bullying will not be dealt with.

I recommend that the Board provides all employees with a written copy of the complaint’s procedure and the Bullying and Harassment procedure including guidelines on how complaints will be dealt with on an informal basis.

I recommend that where a complaint has been raised in writing, it should be given to the subject of the complaint as part of the procedure.

I recommend that the Board take steps to improve communications between the management of the centre and the Board.

I recommend that the Board takes urgent steps to create a working environment without fear of bullying or victimisation, ensuring that management of the centre undertake anti bullying training as soon as possible.

I recommend that the Board takes steps to ensure that all employees are treated with dignity and that all Human Resources procedures are reviewed as a matter of urgency.

I recommend that the Board takes steps to conclude its investigation into complaints made against the complainant and resolve this matter.

I recommend that the Board restores the complainant to the level of pay she was receiving prior to the commencement of the investigation of the complaint with effect from the date which it instructed her to commence sick leave and further recommend that the Board pays the complainant the monies owing to her since that date.

I recommend that the Board refer to the Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying at Work, Statutory Instrument 674/2020 - Industrial Relations Act 1990 for guidance on how to proceed in relation to these matters.

Bullying and harassment procedures, Industrial Relations Recommendation, SI 674/2020