Worker

Employer

Anonymised Parties

A Manager

A Hospital

Representatives

Forsa Trade Union

Employee Relations Department

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 - 00004270

09/05/2025

The Worker is currently on Grade VII.  He seeks to be ungraded to Grade VIII to reflect the scope and complexity of the role he has been performing since 2019.

The Worker commenced employment in the role in 2019.  His current grade does not reflect the scope, complexity and seniority of the work performed since commencement of employment.  The Worker has a Grade VII reporting into him which is inconsistent with the Employer’s guidelines.  Individuals performing the same role in comparable hospitals are on Grade VIII.  The Worker has exhausted the internal grievance procedure.  Senior management acknowledged the merits of his dispute.  The Worker does not accept management’s position that there is no internal mechanism to regrade the Worker.  Rather it is open to management to make a business case to the Department to have the Worker regraded.

The Worker has exhausted the internal grievance procedure and at each stage of the procedure, the Worker was informed that there is no mechanism available to the Employer to evaluate and/or regrade his post.  A nationally agreed Job Evaluation Scheme is in operation for Grades III to VI.  This scheme was collectively negotiated through established industrial relations mechanisms and is the sole agreed process through which posts are evaluated and/or regraded.  The Worker’s grade is not included within that scheme, and so the Worker cannot avail of the scheme.  The matter of including Grade VII within the established Job Evaluation Scheme has been the subject of negotiation between the Employer and the Union, but no agreement has yet been reached.  

The WRC has no jurisdiction to conduct an evaluation of a post and any recommendation by the WRC to deviate from the agreed national scheme would de facto modify the collectively agreed scheme for that class of staff and amount to the setting up of a parallel process.  Outside of the nationally agreed scheme, any movement upwards in grades can only be achieved via open competition.  Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 precludes an Adjudication Officer from considering a dispute connected with the rates of pay of a body of workers.  Concession of the Worker’s claim will engage the rates of pay of every worker not covered within the terms to the Job Evaluation Scheme.  Further, the claim is cost increasing and expressly prohibited under s 4.2.5 of the Public Sector Service Agreement 2024-2026.  The applicable comparable hospital also engages the same management post at Grade VII.  The hearing was directed to the recommendation of the Adjudication Officer in A Complainant v. A Public Health (Authority) (ADJ-00028620), and the decisions of the Labour Court in HSE v. A Worker (LCR23037) and HSE v. A Worker, (LCR22976) in support of the Employer’s position.

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

The Employer supports the Worker’s claim but contends that there is no evaluation process covering the Worker’s grade, and there is no other mechanism available to it to upgrade the post to a higher post.  Options to resolve the dispute were explored at the hearing.  Removing Grade VIII responsibilities is not palatable to the Worker for reasons outlined at the hearing.  The making of an individual business case to the Department on behalf of the Worker as proposed by the Worker, is equally not a viable option for the Employer for reasons outlined at the hearing.

Having considered the written and oral submissions of the parties and the decision of the Labour Court in HSE v. A Worker (LCR23037) and in HSE v. A Worker, (LCR22976), I am satisfied this dispute concerning the regrading of the Worker has collective implications. Therefore, having regard to s 13(2) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 (as amended) I decide I have no jurisdiction to make a recommendation on this dispute.

I have no jurisdiction to make a recommendation on this dispute.

Regrading. Collective implications. No jurisdiction.