Worker

Employer

Anonymised Parties

A Worker

A Retailer

Act

Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969

IR - SC - 00000049

07/04/2022

The worker has been employed since November 2000 and has been working over 35 hours on a regular roster 8am to 4pm for a significant period. Due to COVID, in March 2020, at the request of her employer, she changed her attendance to 7am start time.

Due to the return to a normal retail environment, the employer has requested the worker to revert to an 8am start and that her roster hours would continue to be reviewed on a regular basis. The worker and her representative have engaged with the employer with a view to resolving the roster issue and agreement has not been reached. The worker has been allowed to continue with the 7am start times pending the dispute being referred to the Workplace Relations Commission and a recommendation to resolve the dispute.

The worker has been with the employer for many years and is seeking more certainty in terms of her rostered hours. She has been flexible and intends to be as flexible as possible into the future with her employer although she has other commitments outside of work. She is concerned that her regular roster hours are subject to ongoing review and would like to have some certainty of her working hours into the future.

The employer is operating under the agreement reached with the union and has afforded the worker due process on hear grievance issue with the roster. Despite not being able to resolve the rostering issue with the worker and her representative, the employer wants to reach an agreement that satisfies the business needs along with the worker’s needs, if possible.   

In conducting my investigation, I have considered all relevant submissions presented to me by the parties. I note that the worker has maintained regular rostered hours over a significant period and that the hours changed at the request of the employer due to the onset of COVID in March 2020.

I recommend that the worker revert to her previous start time of 8am and that she be facilitated with a 3pm finish time so she can attend to her personal commitments. The employer should not require regular reviews of her roster hours into the future save in circumstances where an urgent business need or exceptional circumstances arise. Any future review should only occur where there is a significant event and urgent business need. Indeed, it may also be the case that the worker seeks a discussion on rosters at some stage in the future if her circumstances change.

This recommendation should not affect the normal ongoing interaction between the store manager and the worker on the operation of the roster and the normal flexibilities that are allowed for under the union/management roster agreement.

Roster arrangements