Complainant

Respondent

Parties

Caroline  Walsh

An Garda Siochana

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-00053703-002

14/11/2022

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994

CA-00053703-003

14/11/2022

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994

CA-00053703-004

14/11/2022

The Complainant commenced her employment with the Respondent on 2 January 2007. In 2014, she moved role and was appointed to a position of Crime and Policing Analyst. She stated that further to her new appointment she was not issued with a revised written statement of her terms and conditions of employment. She also stated that the Respondent discriminated against her when they refused to pay her subsistence/expenses payments because she chose to drive home to her family every night when she attended training courses in the Garda college. She also stated that she was refused a secondment in 2021.

CA-00053703-002:

The Complainant stated that she was successfully appointed to a position of Crime and Policing Analyst in 2014. As part of her role she was required to attend several training courses in the Garda Training College. She stated that because she chose to drive home every evening to be with her family, she was unable to avail of the subsistence/expenses payments which those who stayed in Templemore overnight were eligible for. She asserted that this constituted discriminatory treatment by the Respondent. 

CA-00053703-003:

The Complainant stated that she was successfully appointed to a position of Crime and Policing Analyst in 2014 having previously worked as a Physical Education Teacher with the Respondent. She stated that further to her appointment to this new role she was now no longer eligible for mobility and highlighted that she did not receive a revised written statement of her terms and conditions of employment which reflected this change.

CA-00053703-004:

The Complainant stated that she was refused a secondment in 2021.

CA-00053703-002:

The Respondent stated that the Complainant was invited to attend a two-day training course in April 2022 which she was not obliged to attend and did not do so. The course lasted for two days and ran between 9am and 5pm. Attendees were offered free accommodation at the training venue and were provided with breakfast and lunch in the on-site restaurant. Although no evening meal was provided, those availing of the accommodation were entitled to claim a subsistence allowance of €14.01 in respect of an evening meal.

CA-00053703-003:

The Respondent stated that application of the Civil Service Mobility scheme does not constitute part of the Complainant’s terms and conditions of employment.

CA-00053703-004:

The Respondent stated that an alleged refusal of a secondment does not constitute a breach of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 as there was no change in the Complainant’s terms and conditions of employment.

CA-00053703-002:

The Law

Section 77(5) states:

(a) Subject to paragraph (b), a claim for redress in respect of discrimination or victimisation may not be referred under this section after the end of the period of 6 months from the date of occurrence of the discrimination or victimisation to which the case relates or, as the case may be, the date of its most recent occurrence.

(b) On application by a complainant the Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission or Circuit Court, as the case may be, may, for reasonable cause, direct that in relation to the complainant paragraph (a) shall have effect as if for the reference to a period of 6 months there were substituted a reference to such period not exceeding 12 months as is specified in the direction; and, where such a direction is given, this Part shall have effect accordingly.

 (c) This subsection does not apply in relation to a claim not to be receiving remuneration in accordance with an equal remuneration term.

Findings:

This complaint concerns a refusal by the Respondent to provide for the payment of subsistence allowances on training courses to the Complainant.

As the most recent alleged discrimination occurred on 27 April 2022, and in the absence of any reasonable cause having been presented to explain why the complaint was not referred to the WRC within the six-month period set out in the legislation above, I find that I do not have jurisdiction to hear the complaint.

CA-00053703-003:

The Law

Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 states: -

(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.”

and

(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.

Findings:

I note that the Complainant changed role in 2014 from that of a Physical Education Teacher in the Garda Training College to a Crime and Policing Analyst. As there was no suggestion of a further change in her employment after 2014, any contravention of the legislation can only have occurred in 2014. As this complaint was not referred to the WRC on 14 November 2022 however, I have no jurisdiction to hear it.

CA-00053703-004:

This complaint relates to a secondment that the Complainant stated that she was refused in 2021. As there was no suggestion that there was a change to her written statement of her terms and conditions of employment in the context of this refusal, I find that the complaint is misconceived.

CA-00053703-002:

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

CA-00053703-003:

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

CA-00053703-004:

I find that the complaint is misconceived for the reasons set out above and is therefore dismissed.