Worker

Employer

Anonymised Parties

An Employee

An Ice cream franchise

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 - 00002937

31/07/2024

The Worker was employed by the employer as Store Manager.    She submitted written notice of her resignation on 3RD of June 2024.  The complainants last day at work was agreed as 4th of August 2024.   

The Worker referred her dispute to the Director General of the WRC on 31st of July 2024 pursuant to the Industrial Relations Act, 1969.

The claim relates to an allegation by the worker that the Employer failed to properly handle a Bullying and Harassment complaint made by her.

The Worker outlined how she had handed in her notice to her employer in June 2024 and  was training in her replacement Ms. R when the matters the subject of this dispute took place.   The worker told the hearing that she was training in Ms. R when Ms. A who was the workers supervisor came to the premises to continue training in the workers replacement but the worker states that Ms. A undermined the training plan which the worker had put in place. 

 The worker stated that Ms. A reprimanded her and undermined her in front of staff and also indicated that the way the worker had been training Ms R was incorrect.   The worker stated that Ms A was aggressive and yelled at her .  The worker stated that Ms A challenged everything she was suggesting to Ms, R and belittled everything she was saying.   The worker stated that she was also reprimanded for not training Ms. R in stocktakes something which the worker states she was instructed not to do as it was too early in Ms. Rs employment and she would not have known all the products at that stage.  The worker raised other issues in relation to being locked out of her work email and systems after this date.

 The worker advised the hearing that she had in her complaint email advised the employer that she was going on medical leave and had sent in a medical cert dated 18th to 31st of July.  The worker stated that her leaving date had already been agreed as 4th of August following submission of her resignation a few weeks prior to the incident.   The worker advised the hearing that her decision to resign had nothing to do with the incident or with the complaint and how it was handled as she had already decided to resign and had handed in her notice on the 3rd of June.

The worker stated that she submitted a complaint via email to HR on 18th of July 2024 and had received a response from Ms. M Head of HR stating that her concerns would be investigated but she added that she never received anything further and assumed that nothing had been done about her complaint.

The worker seeks a recommendation that Ms. A should undergo mandatory training on how to treat people.

She also stated that the Company should put in place a policy for dealing with complaints more efficiently.

The employer advised the hearing that the workers complaint had been investigated and a sanction applied as a result.  The employer advised the hearing that Ms. A was interviewed on 18th of July in respect of the complaint lodged by the worker.  The employer stated that the notes of this meeting were provided in its submission for the hearing.  The employer told the hearing that following the investigation Ms A was provided with a recommendation that she undertake additional training.

The employer advised the hearing that Ms. A did acknowledge that she had come in with a different training plan to that being applied by the worker when training in her replacement Ms. R.  The employer stated that it does have a standard training plan from Head Office  for new managers and that it should have made it clear to the worker that this training plan was to be followed by her in training in the new replacement manager, Ms. R.   The employer told the hearing that they could and should have provided the worker with more information on the standardised training plan for incoming managers and stated that they had learned from this. 

The employer stated that an investigation had been carried out but because the worker had left their employment they felt that they could not disclose the outcome to her.

The employer added that they had taken steps to ensure that no other staff member feels the way the worker was made to feel.

The employer advised the hearing that they now have a manager’s training plan in place but he ack that it may not have been there when the worker was employed or that the worker may not have been aware of it.

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

The worker’s position is that she submitted a complaint via email to HR on 18th of July 2024 and received a response from Ms. M Head of HR stating that her concerns would be investigated but she never received anything further and assumed that nothing had been done about her complaint.

The employer in reply to this stated that it had investigated the workers complaint and that they had interviewed Ms A  on 18th of July in respect of the complaint lodged by the worker.   

The employer stated that the notes of this meeting were provided in its submission for the hearing.  The employer told the hearing that Ms A was given a recommendation.  

The employer stated that the incident had taken place during the workers notice period and the worker had not returned to the workplace after submitting the complaint.

The employer at the hearing acknowledged that it had not notified the worker that her claim had been investigated nor had they notified her of the outcome of the matter..

The employer stated that the worker had not returned to work after lodging the complaint as she had already handed in her notice on the 3rd of June, and she had advised them on 17th of July that she would be going on sick leave from that date.   The employer at the hearing acknowledged  that the worker should have been notified that an investigation had taken place, and an outcome reached.

The worker submitted her complaint to the employer via email without reference to any bullying and harassment procedures.    The employer at the hearing did not refer to any complaint procedures or bullying and harassment procedures.  

In addition to the  bully and harassment procedures  the worker also raised an issue that the new manager Ms. R had commenced on a higher rate of pay than the worker.   The worker stated that she raised this before going on medical leave in July but stated that her salary was not increased yet that of her colleague Ms. H was increased.   The worker stated that she believed this wage disparity was the result of discrimination, potentially linked to prior disagreements with Ms. or personal bias against her.  The worker did not state on what grounds she was alleging this discrimination.   In addition, I note that the issue centres on the new manager receiving a higher rate of pay.  The employer at the hearing stated that the new manager Ms. R at interview  was initially offered a lower rate of pay me but that she had  had negotiated a higher rate of pay and the employer felt it was worth it to entice her to take the job.

The worker at the hearing sought a recommendation that the employer train all managers in how to speak to and deal with people.  The respondent indicated that it had already taken steps in this regard.  The worker also requested that the company deal with complaints more efficiently.

I note the employer’s position that the investigation outcome included a recommendation to Ms. A outlining the correct procedure  for dealing with similar situations in the future as well as guidance on people skills going  forward.

Having considered all the written and oral submissions in relation to this case, I make the following recommendation:

I recommend that the employers bullying, and harassment procedures be redrafted with greater detail as to the process to be followed in relation to taking a complaint and outlining what a complainant can expect from the procedures.

Having considered the written and oral submissions in relation to this case, I make the following recommendation:

I recommend that the employers bullying, and harassment procedures be redrafted with greater detail as to the process to be followed in relation to taking a complaint and outlining what a complainant can expect from the procedures.