ADJUDICATION OFFICER Recommendation on dispute under Industrial Relations Act 1969

Investigation Recommendation Reference: IR - SC - 00000465

Parties:

	Worker	Employer
Anonymised Parties	Plan Design Team Member	A Telecommunications Company

Dispute:

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 - 00000465	11/07/2022

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Thomas O'Driscoll

Date of Hearing: 20/04/2023

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 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 information relevant to the dispute. The Worker was self-represented. The Employer did not appear at the hearing. I am reasonably satisfied that the Employer was notified of the date, time, and location of the hearing.

Background:

The Worker was a long-standing team design member with the Employer. He took a grievance in line with the agreed grievance procedure, but he submits that the Employer did not adopt the steps of the grievance procedure nor meaningfully engage with the Worker during the process and though the grievance was ultimately sorted to the Worker’s satisfaction after a period of approximately 5 months, the Employer had no regard for the process. The Worker is seeking a recommendation that the Employer would abide by its own grievance procedure when dealing with the Worker going into the future.

Summary of Workers Case:

The Worker had been awarded €1000, amongst other stipulations, at a previous hearing of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), ADJ-00028803. Shortly after the recommendation was issued in January 2021, the Worker claims that a senior HR manager with the Employer promised the Worker that the €1,000, as recommended, would be paid to him as soon as possible. However, the Worker waited for a period, and then enquired, but no money was paid to him. The Worker then initiated a formal grievance with his line manager on 18 June 2021 in relation to this specific matter, as well as others that are not for investigation at the hearing. However, this grievance was not dealt with within the 7-day time frame as stipulated at first instance in the procedure. The grievance was immediately elevated to the HR department without discussion. The Worker eventually received the compensatory sum in October 2021. The Worker submits that stages two and three of the grievance procedure were discarded by the Employer and he is seeking a recommendation that the Employer would in future abide with the correct stages of the grievance procedure in a timely manner

Summary of Employer’s Case:

The Employer did not attend.

Conclusions:

In conducting my investigation, I have taken into account the submission presented to me by the Worker. I informed the Worker at the hearing that I was not in apposition to investigate grievances that had already been aired and dealt with at a previous WRC hearing, but I did accept that the manner in which the specific grievance with regard to the non-payment of a compensatory sum, albeit arising from a previous recommendation, was a valid and fresh grievance to be investigated.

The Worker exhibited the agreed company/ union grievance procedure and I refer to the following relevant provisions:

The Company recognises the significance of personal grievances to individual employees and will endeavour to deal with such matters without undue delay and within reasonably appropriate timelines.

When a grievance is raised there are a number of stages (the Employer) will go through in order to ensure the successful resolution. Those stages are:

1. Raised at local management level

2. If not resolved, raised to Senior Management

3. If not resolved, then both sides should prepare jointly a minute of the proceedings to date and refer it to Human Resources and Union Head Office (where applicable).

If stage (3) cannot resolve the grievance both sides have the option of referring the issue to a Third Party, normally the services of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) or the Labour Court.

…The WRC will issue a report on the case referred to it and make a recommendation.

S.I. 146 of 2000 emphasises best practice when dealing with workers’ grievances. I have no doubt that the Employer’s written procedures fully comply with statutory instrument, but I am satisfied, based on the Worker’s submission, that the Employer did not practice what it had drafted when it came to the Worker’s particular grievance in this instance. . No effort was made to process the issue locally and the eventual resolution came about through an unorthodox intervention rather than the agreed procedure. I recommend concession of the claim.

Recommendation:

Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.

I recommend concession of the Worker’s claim and advise that the Employer should fully abide with its grievance procedure when dealing with any future grievance that the Worker may have. Meaningful efforts should be made to resolve matters locally , and failing that, the grievance should only be elevated when such efforts fail. The step-by-step procedure must be used in the time period stipulated in the provisions.

Dated: 11-05-2023

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Thomas O'Driscoll

Key Words:

Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969, Grievance Procedure, Time Limits.