ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00026762
Parties:
| The Worker | The Employer |
Anonymised Parties | A Nurse | A Nursing Home |
Representatives | Self-Represented | Audrey Carney The HR Company |
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-00034065-003 | 29/01/2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 11/02/2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969following the referral of the complaint(s)/dispute(s) to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint(s)/dispute(s) and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint(s)/dispute(s).
Background:
The Worker alleged a bullying incident occurred on January 22nd, 2020 and sought investigation by the WRC of the issue on January 29th, 2020. The Worker resigned on May 11th, 2020. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The Workers contract of employment contains comprehensive procedures for making a bullying complaint, both informally and formally. Detailed steps are set out in the Company Handbook as to what steps an Employee must take to lodge a bullying complaint and for the complaint to be investigated by the Company, up to and including a full investigation of the claim. The procedure also calls for the complaint to be formally notified to the person which the complaint is made against. At the outset of this Hearing the Worker was asked by the Adjudicator had she initiated or completed the Bullying complaint procedure internally. The Worker advised she had not initiated the Bullying Complaint procedure at any stage internally. Labour Court Decision INTO1014 clearly sets out that unless internal dispute procedures are followed the Court (and by implication an Adjudicator) should not ¨insert itself into the procedural process in a situation where the dispute procedures have been bypassed. ¨ This is clearly the case in this claim. |
Recommendation:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
I recommend that the Complaint follow the procedure set out in her contract of employment for lodging a bullying complaint and that the Employer facilitate this process even though the Worker is no longer employed by the Employer. |
Dated: 12-05-2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Key Words:
Bullying |