ADJUDICATION OFFICER Recommendation on dispute under Industrial Relations Act 1969
Investigation Recommendation Reference: IR - SC - 00003649
Parties:
| Worker | Employer |
Anonymised Parties | A Health Care Assistant | A Home Care Company |
Representatives | In person | The HR Suite |
Dispute:
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 - 00003649 | 14/01/2025 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 | IR - SC - 00003650 | 14/01/2025 |
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Andrew Heavey
Date of Hearing: 30/09/2025
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 (as amended)following the referral of the disputes to me by the Director General, I inquired into the disputes and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any information relevant to the disputes.
Background:
The worker was employed as a Health Care Assistant from March 2023 until 17th May 2024. The two issues raised by the worker relate to issues regarding payment of expenses and issues of bullying and harassment which the worker claims he was subjected to during the employment. |
Summary of Workers Case:
The worker stated that his employer did not support him in relation to the additional expenses he was incurring and did not discharge payment to him in relation to same. The worker also contends that he was subject to bullying and harassment in the workplace. The worker is seeking an investigation into the two issues he has raised. |
Summary of Employer’s Case:
The employer’s position is that the worker has left the employment since May 2024 and the issues raised by him at the time were not raised formally in accordance with the company’s grievance procedures. The employer stated that the worker voiced concerns at different times, but these were addressed and there was no indication that the worker remained dissatisfied and wished to raise a formal grievance. |
Conclusions:
In conducting my investigation, I have considered all relevant submissions presented to me by the parties.
The WRC and Labour Court have consistently found that industrial relations issues that are referred for investigation must first be the subject of an internal investigation process in line with the appropriate grievance procedures. This is because it is not the role of the State’s dispute resolution fora to become involved in grievances that should be addressed at local level between employers and their employees.
In this case, the worker was dissatisfied with issues relating to the payment of his expenses and issues of how he was being treated at work. The worker was aware of the internal procedures relating to raising these issues but did not pursue a formal grievance. It was also more than six months after leaving the employment that the matters were referred to the WRC without being addressed formally with the employer at local level.
In all the circumstances of the dispute, I find it is not the role of a WRC adjudication officer to investigate a worker’s grievances where the employer has not had an opportunity to address the workers grievances in line with its internal procedures. |
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 utilise the internal grievance procedures prior to referring the matter to the adjudication services of the WRC, I do not recommend in favour of the worker. |
Dated: 06-01-26
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Andrew Heavey
Key Words:
Internal grievance procedures not utilised. |