ADJUDICATION OFFICER Recommendation on dispute under Industrial Relations Act 1969
Investigation Recommendation Reference: IR - SC - 00000472
Parties:
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| Worker | Employer |
Anonymised Parties | A General Operative | A County Council |
Representatives | A SIPTU Official | An LGMA Official |
Dispute(s):
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 - 00000472 | 18/07/2022 |
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Date of Hearing: 09/02/2024
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.
Background:
The Worker initiated a grievance on December 6th 2019 with his Employer and has not received a formal decision on his grievance to date and he sought a timeframe for a decision from the Employer and compensation for the delay. |
Summary of Workers Case:
The worker initiated a grievance on December 6th 2019 and has yet to receive a formal reply to his grievance. The Worker accepted that some of the delay was due to Covid but despite a number of engagements with the Employer he had yet to receive a Stage 1 decision on his grievance. The Worker sought a specific timeframe for the Employer to give a decision and to complete the internal grievance process, if required, and compensation for the delay. |
Summary of Employer’s Case:
The Employer accepted that no decision on the Workers grievance had been issued and set out the dates of engagement with the Worker on his grievance and explained and accepted that due to Covid and some internal personnel changes a delay occurred. |
Conclusions:
In conducting my investigation, I have taken into account all relevant submissions presented to me by the parties. While I accept that Covid played a part in the delay the Employer has an obligation to complete a grievance process reasonably quickly and a four-year delay to provide a Stage 1 decision is not reasonable. |
Recommendation:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
I recommend that the Employer give a Decision on the Stage 1 grievance within three weeks of todays date. After this decision is issued to the Worker, should he then initiate further stages of the grievance procedure as per the grievance procedure, then any further internal stages should be completed with the full co-operation of the Partis within three months of today’s date. It is a well-established principle that an Employer should complete a grievance as quickly as possible and I also recommend the Worker receive 2,000 Euros compensation for the delay in giving him a Stage 1 decision to his grievance. |
Dated: 14th of February 2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Key Words:
Trade Dispute |