ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00030546
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Retired Service Manager | A Health Care Provider |
Representatives | Ryan McKinney FORSA |
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Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969] | CA-00040653 | 28 October 2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 25/03/2022
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Roger McGrath
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.
The matter was heard by way of remote hearing on 25 March 2022 pursuant to the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 and S.I. 359/2020, which designated the WRC as a body empowered to hold remote hearings.
Background:
The worker was employed as a Service Manager with the employer. She retired from her employment on 8 October 2018. A Complaint Form was received by the WRC on 28 October 2020.
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Preliminary Issue
The employer submitted that there had been a delay of over two years between the end of the worker’s employment with the employer and the submission of a Complaint Form to the WRC; therefore the dispute was out of time. The worker’s union’s representative submitted that the union had been engaged in discussions with the employer on this dispute for a long time and certainly for a period before the worker retired.
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Findings and Conclusions:
Jurisdiction Section 26A of the IR Act 1990 is applicable as regards time-limits for submissions of trade disputes to the WRC by retired workers under section 13 of the IR Act 1969. Section 26A states: Time limit in relation to trade dispute where retired worker is party to dispute 26A. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this or any other enactment, but subject to subsection (2), an adjudication officer or the Court shall not investigate a trade dispute to which a worker who has ceased to be employed by reason of his or her retirement is a party unless— (a) the dispute was referred to the Commission for conciliation within a period of 6 months from the date on which the worker’s employment ceased, or the date on which the event to which the dispute relates occurred, whichever is the earlier, or (b) the dispute was referred to an adjudication officer or, as the case may be, the Court within the period referred to in paragraph (a). (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), an adjudication officer or, as the case may be, the Court may extend the period referred to in that subsection by a further period not exceeding 6 months where the adjudication officer or the Court is satisfied that the failure to refer the dispute within the period referred to in subsection (1) was due to reasonable cause.
In light of the above and the fact that the dispute was referred well outside the allowed time limits, I find I do not have jurisdiction to investigate this complaint. |
Recommendation:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
I do not make a recommendation in relation to this dispute. |
Dated: 6th July 2022
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Roger McGrath
Key Words:
S26A IR Act 1990 |