Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

An Individual

A Healthcare Provider

Representatives

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 77 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998

CA-00058418-001

22/08/2023

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 77 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998

CA-00058424-001

22/08/2023

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 28 of the Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Act, 2005

CA-00058433-001

22/08/2023

The Complainant worked for the Respondent from March of 2003 until 20th May 2019 when she was placed on ill health retirement.

The Complainant challenged this decision by bringing complaints under a variety of acts, some complaints were appealed to the Labour Court. Decisions issued in these cases and appeals in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

While these complaints were being considered and even after they had been the determined the Complainant continued to refer complaints to the WRC in 2020, 2021 and 2022. These complaints were referred to me and a hearing was held in January 2023. Decisions issued in these cases in May 2023. These decisions are ADJ-00030360, ADJ-00032093, ADJ-0032418, ADJ-00040029, ADJ-00037341, ADJ-00037340, ADJ-00037339 and ADJ-00035260, ADJ-00036391, ADJ-00040031.

It has been determined by both the WRC and Labour Court that the Complainant’s employment relationship with the Respondent ended on 20th of May 2019. At various stages the Complainant has sought to assert that she is on a form of suspension as she believes the decision to place her on retirement was not properly arrived at. This has already been considered by the WRC and rejected. 

These complaints were submitted by the Complainant on the 22nd of August 2023 some 4 years after her employment relationship with the Respondent ended.

The Complainant’s submissions tend to refer to various EU treaty rights and alleged actions of the Respondent. They are extraordinarily difficult to follow but where they refer to clear actions by the Respondent they refer to matters which have already been referred to the WRC and Labour Court, such as the decision to place the Complainant on ill health retirement or the ongoing payments from that retirement scheme or the forms associated with that scheme.

I have already issued decisions ADJ-00030360, ADJ-00032093, ADJ-0032418, ADJ-00040029, ADJ-00037341, ADJ-00037340, ADJ-00037339 and ADJ-00035260, ADJ-00036391, ADJ-00040031 in May of this year.

These decisions have established the following:

·       The Complainant ceased being an employee of the Respondent in May 2019. She is not an employee on suspension.

·       Complaints regarding the conduct of the Respondent after this date fall outside my jurisdiction under the Employment Equality Acts and Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act as there is no employment relationship within to ground a complaint. 

·       Complaints considering the Respondents conduct before this date concern matters which have already been determined by the WRC and Labour Court.

·       Complaints considering the Respondents conduct before this date are manifestly out of time.

·       Complaints concerning pension rights and ongoing pension payments are specifically excluded from the scope of the Employment Equality Acts.

I have jurisdiction of complaints under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act by way of Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015. Section 42. (1) of the Workplace Relations Act clearly states that: An adjudication officer may, at any time, dismiss a complaint or dispute referred to him or her under section 41 if he or she is of the opinion that it is frivolous or vexatious.

Section 77 A of the Employment Equality Acts similarly gives me the power to dismiss a claim at any stage if it is frivolous, vexatious or made in bad faith.

On review of the Complainant’s complaint forms, CA-00058418, CA-00058424 and CA-00058433 and I am satisfied that these complaints are frivolous in the sense that they lack any legal merit on the basis of the acts under which they have been referred. There is nothing to be gained by holding a hearing into these matters and it would only serve to waste the resources of the WRC and the Respondent which has already been required to attend several hearings.   

As I decided to anonymise the previous decisions upon the request of the Complainant I have determined that I should do so with these complaints as well, not least because if the parties were identified in this decision it might compromise the decision to anonymise the earlier decisions.  

CA-00058433-001

In accordance with Section 42 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 I have decided to dismiss this complaint on the basis that it is frivolous.  

CA-00058418-001

In accordance with Section 77A of the Employment Equality Acts  I have decided to dismiss this complaint on the basis that it is frivolous. 

CA-00058424-001

In accordance with Section 77A of the Employment Equality Acts  I have decided to dismiss this complaint on the basis that it is frivolous. 

frivolous