Complainant

Respondent

Parties

Fiona  Ruane

Health Service Executive

Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

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Representatives

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997

CA-00046915-001

01/11/2021

The Complainant has been employed as a CNM1 (Nursing Manager) with the Respondent since 1 July 1981. She works at Teach Ban, one of the Respondent’s 24 hours psychiatric community residences, in Dublin and is paid €2,599 per fortnight.

She stated that the Respondent is in breach of the Act firstly because she does not receive a daily rest period of at least 11 hours on one day every week and secondly because the breaks she takes during the working day are excessive.

The Complainant stated that she is not getting her daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours per 24 hour period on one day every week given that she works either Thursday/Friday or Saturday/Sunday each week, finishing the first day at 20 45hrs and beginning the following morning at 07 30hrs.

She also stated that the two breaks she receives during the working day, namely one of one hour and a second of forty three minutes, are far in excess of the rest break provisions stipulated in the Organisation of Working Time Act which provide for a 15 minute break when an employee has worked more than 4.5 hours and a 30 minute break when someone has worked more than 6 hours, which can include the first 15- minute break.

The Respondent did not dispute that the Complainant finished work on one day every week at 20 45 hours and began the following morning at 07 30 hrs. It was asserted however that this roster had been agreed with the Complainant’s union and that discussions were ongoing in order to change the working hours.

The Law

Sections 11 and 12 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 states that:

Daily rest period.

11.—An employee shall be entitled to a rest period of not less than 11 consecutive hours in each period of 24 hours during which he or she works for his or her employer.

12.—(1) An employer shall not require an employee to work for a period of more than 4 hours and 30 minutes without allowing him or her a break of at least 15 minutes.

(2) An employer shall not require an employee to work for a period of more than 6 hours without allowing him or her a break of at least 30 minutes; such a break may include the break referred to in subsection (1).

Findings

I note that the Complainant is rostered each week on either Thursday and Friday or Saturday and Sunday from 07:30 until 20:45. As she commences work on either the relevant Friday or Sunday within 11 hours of having completed her shift on the previous day (Friday following the Thursday or Sunday following the Saturday), I find that this aspect of the complaint is well founded.

While the Complainant stated that her two breaks, namely one break period of one hour duration and another break of 43 minutes are far more than what is outlined in the Act above, the Act only sets out minimum and not maximum break times. As she received these minimum break times, I find that this aspect of the complaint is not well founded.

CA-00046916-001:

As outlined above, I find that this complaint is well founded in part, namely because the Complainant has not received her required daily rest break of 11 consecutive hours on one occasion every week.  I make an award of €2,500 in respect of this breach of the legislation.