LCR22821

1.Appeal Of Adjudication Officer Decision No ADJ-0042340 CA-00053038

BACKGROUND:

2.The Worker appealed the Adjudication Officer’s Recommendation to the Labour Court on 2 June 2023 in accordance with Section 13(9) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969.

A Labour Court hearing took place on 8 September 2023.

DECISION:

This is an appeal by FORSA of an Adjudication Officer’s Recommendation IR-SC-00000716 on behalf of a worker with the National Ambulance Service.

The Adjudication Officer recommended that the parties commence a process of discussions focused on finding an acceptable solution to the dispute, and that such negotiations should conclude by 30 June 2023. While both parties accepted the Adjudication Officer’s recommendation, the parties failed to reach agreement by the specified date, and so appealed the matter to the Court. The Union attributed the failure to progress discussions to a lack of engagement by the Employer, while the Employer, for its part, took issue with the scope of the Worker’s claim in circumstances where it did not have a mandate or sanction to address the issues raised.

The role of the Court in an appeal of this nature is to set out its opinion on the merits of the dispute and the basis upon which it should be resolved having regard to principles of fairness and good practice. The Court spent some considerable time at the outset of the hearing clarifying the nature of the Worker’s claim which encompasses a number of longstanding issues relating to pay, grading, access to job evaluations, promotional opportunities, and dignity at work, that have become intertwined over time. The Court was referred to the outcome of various reviews, reports, and investigations in support of the Worker’s position.

In making this recommendation, the Court has given careful consideration to the written submissions of the parties, and the answers provided to questions posed by the Court.

When assisting parties resolve a dispute the Court has no role or remit to step outside matters encompassed by national agreements, or by processes and procedures in relation to the grading of roles, job evaluations or promotional opportunities. On this basis, the Court can see no justifiable basis upon which it could recommend concession of the Unions claim for a regrading or red circling of the Worker’s role.

The Court is conscious that the within dispute has been a long and protracted one for the Worker concerned, and that it is in the interests of the Worker to move on in his relationship with his employer andendeavour to put these matters behind him.

At the hearing the employer indicated a willingness to enter into discussions with the Worker in relation to certain more recent aspects of the Worker’s claim with a view to reaching a settlement agreement and bringing finality to those matters.

Taking account of the particular circumstances of this case, theCourt recommends that the parties enter into discussions in good faith on those matters identified at the hearing by the employer, with a view to reaching an agreement. In the event that agreement cannot be reached within six weeks of the date of this recommendation the matter can be referred back to the Court for a final recommendation.

The Court so decides.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Katie Connolly
CDK	______________________
15 September 2023	Deputy Chairman