ADJUDICATION OFFICER Recommendation on dispute under Industrial Relations Act 1969
Investigation Recommendation Reference: IR - SC - 00000754
Parties:
| Worker | Employer |
Anonymised Parties | A Consultant Physician | A Hospital Group |
Representatives | Self- Represented | Ms F & Mr G of the Employee Relations Department |
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 - 00000754 | 12/10/2022 |
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael McEntee
Date of Hearing: 05/05/2023
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 (as amended) 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.
Name of Employer.
It was not contested that the Hospitals named were the relevant employer.
Background:
The issues in dispute in this Dispute are complex and very detailed. They concern numerous issues between a Consultant Physician and his Medical and Administrative colleagues, against the background of both a Private and a Public Hospital in the Irish Midlands. A major Dignity at Work Exercise, under the National Guidelines, was undertaken which reported in 2019. A very significant volume of documentary material, running to thousands of pages, was submitted in this Dispute. |
1: Summary of Workers Case:
The Worker gave a very vigorous Oral testimony. He feels very strongly that the Dignity at Work Exercise of 2019 was grievously flawed and was a travesty of Natural Justice. He is seeking to have it set aside and effectively repeated from scratch. He continues to suffer personal trauma from the outcome of the Exercise. |
2: Summary of Employer’s Case:
Ms F was for the Hospitals and gave an extensive Oral presentation. The Dignity at Work Exercise that Reported in 2019 (for convenience called the DaW 2019 report) was carried out to the highest standards of procedure and Natural Justice. At the Workers request it was comprehensively and independently reviewed, post issue, by the National Grievance and Standards Body of the National Health Organisation. The review found no flaws in the DaW 2019 Report. It is, accordingly, not possible to re-run the investigation and Report. It was brought to the Adjudication Officer’s notice that a second Dignity at Work complaint from the same Worker had been submitted in late 2020 and was now in the process of being administratively arranged. An appropriate Chairperson was currently being sought. It was felt that much material from the DaW 2019 case was being submitted again for the 2023 exercise and was inadmissible. |
3: Conclusions:
In conducting my investigation, I have taken into account all relevant submissions presented to me by the parties.
At the Adjudication hearing on the 5th May 2023 considerable discussions took place between the Parties and the Adjudication Officer. It was accepted that the Physician concerned was a very valued Medical consultant of long service. It was also accepted that a realistic way forward, to bring finality and closure for both Parties, had to be found for all the multifarious issues involved.
Accordingly, the Adjudication Officer agreed to issue a Recommendation under the Industrial Relations Act,1969 to assist, if possible, in this matter
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3: Recommendation:
IR-- SC - 00000754
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
It is Recommended that
- In moving forward, it is recognised by all Parties that this is a most sensitive and delicate situation for the Consultant Physician, his Medical & Administrative colleagues and the Hospitals involved. The aim of the exercise going forward, particularly the 2023 DaW exercise, has to be to find a way that brings Peace & Suaimhneas (in Gaelic), in Mind and Body, to the Worker and a satisfactory and long overdue closure to the Employer.
- The new Dignity at Work exercise, due to commence in 2023, should have mutually agreed Terms of Reference that are sufficiently encompassing to allow an appropriate review of all background and what could now be called Legacy issues in this most sensitive case. It this context is also Recommended that the Chairperson of the new 2023 Dignity at Work recognise that the 2019 Report is very much a Banquo’s Ghost, (to defer to Shakespeare), in the proceedings. The agreed Terms of Reference to the DaW 2023 exercise have to be drafted with sufficient sympathy and most importantly, mutual accommodation and facilitation, by both Parties, to encompass this reality. This will not be an easy challenge but is possible.
- Notwithstanding, point two above, it is Recommended that the previous Dignity at Work exercise that reported in 2019 and which, importantly, involved multiple colleagues and quasi verbatim reports of personal interviews, in unequivocally recognised as a completed and properly conducted exercise. It cannot, at great Legal peril, as explained by the Adjudication officer, be re-opened.
- It is Recommended that a strict timeline be adopted for the 2023 DaW proceedings and the Chairperson to exercise appropriate strong authority and editorial control of documentation to ensure all Parties focus clearly on their key issues.
- It is Recommended that the outcome be accepted, by all sides, as an appropriate final conclusion to a long running situation.
Dated: 12/05/2023
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael McEntee
Key Words:
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