FULL RECOMMENDATION
| CD/23/14 | RECOMMENDATION NO. LCR22750 |
SECTION 20(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1969
PARTIES:UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK
(REPRESENTED BY IRISH BUSINESS AND EMPLOYERS' CONFEDERATION)
- AND -
A WORKER
(REPRESENTED BY MR. PETER O'BRIEN B.L.
INSTRUCTED BY DERMOT G O'DONOVAN SOLICITORS)
DIVISION:
| Chairman: | Ms O'Donnell | | Employer Member: | Mr Murphy | | Worker Member: | Mr Bell |
SUBJECT:
1.That the Employer acknowledge that the Worker was an Employee from 1990 to the present day, and will reinstate the gross figure of her salary prior to the SCOPE finding together with all increases, benefits and entitlements.
BACKGROUND:
2.The Worker referred this case to the Labour Court on 3 January 2023 in accordance with Section 20 (1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969, and agreed to be bound by the Court’s Recommendation. A Labour Court hearing took place on 3 May 2023.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Employer informed the Court that they were not attending as they believed the issue had been addressed in ADJ-00026175 CA-00033232-001 a case under the Payment of Wages Act 1991.
The Representative for the Worker submitted that she had a long running dispute with her Employer and indicated to the Court that they were not looking for arrears of pay to be paid back to 1990.
The issue in dispute, is that they believe the Worker’s pay should not have been reduced and continue to be reduced following a realigning of her salary by the University. The Worker has suffered a significant loss arising from this realignment and is looking to be compensated for same.
The Worker had progressed her grievance through the internal grievance procedure which provides at the end of the procedure for referral to an appropriate external body which she believed to be the Labour Court.
Discussion
The Court clarified with the Worker’s representative as to whether the complaint had been referred to the Adjudication services of the WRC under s13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969.
The Worker’s representative advised that it had not and that they had referred it directly to the Labour Court.
The Court noting that the internal grievance procedure has been exhausted, and that the procedure at paragraph 3.4.5 makes provision for referral to an appropriate external forum, recommends that the Worker refers her grievance to the Adjudication services of the WRC and that the Employer engage in that process in line with their own procedure.
The Court so recommends.
 | Signed on behalf of the Labour Court | | | | Louise O'Donnell | | TH | ______________________ | | 10 May 2023 | Deputy Chairman |
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Therese Hickey, Court Secretary. | 
