Worker

Employer

Anonymised Parties

A Clerical Officer

A Railway Company

Representatives

Peter Glynn of SIPTU

Management Representative

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Dispute seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969

CA-00034802-001

24/02/2020

The issue in dispute is the withdrawal of a Higher Duty allowance from the Worker in November 2019. The allowance had been paid since week 21 of 2017. The Worker has exhausted all internal grievance procedures and now seeks the assistance of the WRC.

The Worker concerned in this dispute is currently (at the time of lodging the dispute) graded at the CO2 level in the Revenue Protection Unit – the RPU.  In 2015 the Intercity and Suburban RPU Units were merged with the DART RPU. The Worker worked alongside two colleagues from the former Intercity RPU, both at the CO1 grade. They left the RPU in late 2016 and early 2017. The Worker, in the case here, carried on the work carried out by the two former CO1 colleagues. In May 2017 he received a Higher Duty Allowance – effectively putting him on the CO1 scale. This continued until November 2019 when it was withdrawn. The Employer acted in an arbitrary fashion and basically ignored the facts that he was doing CO1 work in the RPU.

The internal processes, Job Evaluation review, that had been put in place to Investigate his case had not acted fairly and given him due recognition for all his extra efforts in the RPU since the amalgamation of Units and the hiring of extra On Train RP Officers.

He is seeking an immediate appointment to the CO1 Grade or failing that an Independent Evaluation of his Work Duties /Grading.

The basic background to this dispute lies in the amalgamation/restructuring of the RPU in 2015 and the exit on transfer and promotion of two experienced CO1 Grades in late 2016 and early 2017. These two vacant CO1 posts were not advertised as the Department / RPU was undergoing a staffing review. A job evaluation of these posts was carried out by the HR Department and it was the conclusion that they scored at the CO2 level.  However, it had been decided in early 2017 that the Worker here would be paid the higher duty allowance (HDA) as an interim and always temporary measure in the immediate aftermath of the departure of the two CO1 Officers.

In 2019 the Employer carried out a Job Evaluation of the Clerical Officer positions in the RPU. The outcome was that there was no longer a Clerical Officer Grade 1 position in the office. The position held by the Worker was deemed to be a Grade 2. The Worker was informed of this on the 6th of November 2019 with the Higher Duty payments being stopped on the 21st November 2019.

The Worker appealed the Grading decision but was unsuccessful. In February 2020 additional meetings were held at the request of SIPTU but the grading decision was adjusted only marginally and not sufficiently to justify a move to Grade 1.

The Employer argued that HDA, often called an “Acting Up” allowance is always a temporary arrangement and is always stopped when the business need no longer exists.

As the practice has been quite common and has sometimes been of considerable duration the Employer and the Group of Unions concluded an agreement at the WRC Conciliation Service in September 2017 setting out a set of rules to govern the practice. In particular a rule applies that a Worker has to be paid the HDA or Acting Up for a period of four years to qualify for a permanent appointment to the higher-grade position – in this case the CO1 Grade.

In this case, leaving aside the Job Evaluation short fall, the Worker was not acting up for a period of four years. To concede the Worker’s claim here would have serious Industrial relations fall out from many other Workers who are covered by the WRC Agreement. In point of fact this aspect of the claim could be seen to fall well into a Section 13 (2) “Body of Workers” claim and be ineligible for Adjudication.

In summary the HDA or Acting Up was paid on a temporary basis, the jobs were evaluated & did not score sufficiently to merit a Grade 1, full internal appeals took place and finally the Employer / Group of Unions Agreement of September 2017 precludes the claim.

The situation regarding “Acting Up” or HD Allowances in this large Employer has a long and often contentious history.

In recognition of this situation the Group of Unions and the Employer concluded in September 2017, with the assistance of the WRC Conciliation Service, a general agreement to cover, as far as possible, the situation.

Unfortunately, in this scenario a general rule like the Four Years Acting Up requirement to qualify for a permanent regrading, can seem a blunt instrument to a Worker who is disadvantaged by the application. However, the alternative scenario, of individual claims, would completely upend the WRC Conciliation Agreement and lead to a reappearance of many Acting Up disputes.

The WRC Agreement of September 2017 was between the Group of Unions and the Employer. This dispute is covered by its provisions and a Recommendation cannot be made in this case that would breach it.

Additionally, the job Evaluation Exercise in late 2019 was subject to internal appeal and post appeal discussions with SIPTU. To allow the Workers suggestion of an external Job Evaluation expert to further hear his case would only give rise to virtually all future job evaluations going external and completely undermine the internal systems. Again, this is not conducive to good HR/IR practice and a Recommendation cannot be made to suggest his.

A Worker of the clear calibre of the person in this dispute will, I have every confidence, soon avail of future promotional opportunities.

However as regards this dispute, CA -00034802-001, it is Recommended that the Worker, who is clearly held in high regard by the Employer, accept the situation arising from the September 2017 WRC Group of Unions Agreement and the job evaluation outcome in 2019.

Action Up. Higher Duty Allowance, Job Evaluation, Appeals, General Union/Employer Grading Agreement