ADJUDICATION OFFICER Recommendation on dispute under Industrial Relations Act 1969

Investigation Recommendation Reference: ADJ 53889

	Worker	Employer
Anonymised Parties	A Housekeeper	An Accommodation Provider

Representatives

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	CA-00046918-002	29/10/2021

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Breiffni O’Neill

Date of Hearing: 1st July 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.

This dispute was heard in conjunction with several employment rights complaints, namely those outlined in ADJ 37260 and 39851 as well as two other industrial relations disputes, namely ADJ 53889 and ADJ 53890.

Background:

The Worker was employed as an Accommodation Assistant (Housekeeper) with the Employer from 28 December 2018 until 23 July 2022. She stated that she was bullied by the Employer.

Summary of Workers Case:

The Worker was employed as an Accommodation Assistant (Housekeeper) with the Respondent from 28 December 2018 until 23 July 2022. She stated that she was bullied by the Employer.

Summary of Employer’s Case:

The Employer denied that the Worker was bullied and stated that no bullying complaint was ever made to them during the course of her employment.

Conclusions:

In conducting my investigation, I have taken into account all relevant submissions presented to me by the parties.

I note that the Worker did not exhaust the Employer’s grievance procedure prior to referring the matter to the WRC. As both the WRC and the Labour Court have consistently held that a Worker should exhaust the Employer’s internal grievance procedure, prior to referring a dispute to the WRC for investigation, I cannot make a recommendation in her favour.

Recommendation:

Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.

As the Worker did not exhaust the Employer’s internal grievance procedure and given that she has since left her employment, I recommend that she deems the matter to be closed.

Dated: 20th of September 2024