ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00029936
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A worker | An Employer |
Representatives |
| Cian Conboy |
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-00039724-001 | 10/09/2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 31/05/2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Conor Stokes
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.
Background:
The worker is employed by employer as a security officer. This matter was heard by way of remote hearing pursuant to the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2020 and S.I. No. 359/2020 which designates the WRC as a body empowered to hold remote hearings. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The worker gave sparse detail in advance of the hearing of this matter relating to the bullying and harassment procedures of the employer. At the hearing, the worker outlined a series of disagreements and harassment that occurred in the workplace. With prompting he provided detail and dates relating to his complaint. He stated that he made a complaint in writing to his managers manager. He also stated that he lodged a complaint with the AskHR facility. He stated that he was called to meetings on two occasions but that the person he was complaining about was the note-taker at the meetings, he stated that when he received these notes, he challenged their veracity but that his concerns were ignored, and he heard nothing further about it.
He stated that he has since moved to a different manager but that he wold like the complaint to be investigated and followed up. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The employer submitted that the worker had not exhausted all local avenues to resolve his dispute. The employer submitted that no bullying or harassment procedures or grievances were registered and that they would have no issue dealing with a complaint, but they have not received one. The employer outlined that they operate an ‘Open Door’ HR policy and they also outline that both the Bullying and Harassment procedures and the Problem Solving (grievance) procedures contain a written form for making a complaint. |
Findings and Conclusions:
Having considered the written and oral submissions of both parties, I find that the worker made a written complaint albeit not on a form proscribed in the employer’s Bullying and Harassment or Problem-Solving procedures. I also find that the worker has not exhausted the local arrangements for processing complaints. |
Recommendation:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
I recommend that the worker provide the employer with a copy of the written complaint that he submitted to the manager named during the hearing and raise a complaint in line with the employer’s procedures. I also recommend that the employer adapt its procedures so that they are flexible enough to accept written complaints that, although do not follow the letter of the procedures, follow the spirit of the procedures (i.e. in writing with appropriate detail, and submitted to a manager) in a manner that is consistent with its ‘Open Door HR’ policy. |
Dated: 28/06/2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Conor Stokes
Key Words:
HR Policy and procedures, written complaints |