ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00028287
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Security Guard | A Security Company |
Representatives | none | none |
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-00036274-001 | 21/05/2020 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 | CA-00036275-001 | 21/05/2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 22/02/2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Roger McGrath
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 worker commenced employment with his employer in June 2006. He has been employed as a security guard since his employment commenced. His normal working week is 48 hours and he is paid approximately €700 per week. A Complaint Form was received by the WRC on 21 May 2020. A remote hearing took place on 22 February 2021. The Worker was not represented. The worker had submitted two complaints to the WRC, CA-36274-001 and 36275-001. At the outset of the hearing the worker withdrew CA-36275-001 as it was a duplicate of CA-36274-001 which had been entered in error. |
Summary of Worker’s Case:
The worker submitted that from his start with the employer in 2006 he had been moved to multiple sites which was not his preference. In September 2018 he was assigned to a particular site and promised he would be working on this site only. On 20 May 2020 the worker received an email from a manager asking him to look at an attachment which contained a complaint from a cleaning company that operated in the same site as the worker. The complaint from the cleaning company contained allegations regarding the worker’s interactions with some of their staff. The worker was suspended by his employer on foot of the complaint received from the cleaning company. The worker believes this suspension to be disproportionate and unfair and seeks it be overturned. |
Summary of Employer’s Case:
The employer explained that he had received a complaint about the worker’s conduct from a cleaning company with employees working in the same site as the worker. Due to the seriousness of the allegations the decision was made to immediately suspend the worker, with pay, pending the outcome of an investigation. This is the normal operating procedure for the employer. |
Recommendation:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
I recommend the worker accept the suspension pending the outcome of the investigation. |
Dated: 20th May 2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Roger McGrath
Key Words:
Suspension, investigation. |