Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00049086

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Parties	John Walsh	An Post

	Complainant	Respondent
Anonymised Parties	{text}	{text}

Representatives

Cormac Ó Dáiligh, Communication Workers Union

Brian Hallissey BL instructed by Jacinta Bourke (In House Solicitor)

Complaint(s):

Act	Complaint/Dispute Reference No.	Date of Receipt
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 28 of the Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Act, 2005	CA-00060372-001	04/12/2023

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 26/06/2024

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Breiffni O'Neill

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 following the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint.

Background:

The Complainant stated that he was penalised in the workplace after raising health and safety concerns.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The Complainant has been employed as a postal operative with the Respondent since 1 March 2000. He stated that he was penalised in 2021 when he was transferred from Whitehall Delivery Office to Harmonstown Delivery Office as a result of him having raised health and safety concerns in the workplace.

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

The Respondent stated that the Complainant was sanctioned as a result of his own wrongdoing within the workplace and that these sanctions were unrelated to the complaints he made.

It was further asserted that the Complainant availed of his full entitlements under the Respondent’s disciplinary process and was represented at every stage.

Findings and Conclusions:

Preliminary Matter:

The complaint was made under Section 28 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005.

Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 applies to the 2005 Act and provides:

(6) Subject to subsection (8), an adjudication officer shall not entertain a complaint referred to him or her under this section if it has been presented to the Director General after the expiration of the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the contravention to which the complaint relates. ….

(8) An adjudication officer may entertain a complaint or dispute to which this section applies presented or referred to the Director General after the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (6) or (7) (but not later than 6 months after such expiration), as the case may be, if he or she is satisfied that the failure to present the complaint or refer the dispute within that period was due to reasonable cause.

As the alleged penalisation occurred in 2021 and this complaint was not referred to the WRC until 4 December 2023, I find that it is statute barred.

Decision:

Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.

I find that that I do not therefore have jurisdiction to hear this complaint for the reasons set out above.

Dated: 27/08/2024

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Breiffni O'Neill