The Complainant had been employed as a Staff Nurse with the Respondent for over 15 years. In addition to the Complainant’s duties as a Staff Nurse with the Respondent, the Complainant is also a union representative as part of an agreed framework between the Employer and a trade union. Part of the Complainant’s duties as a Union Representative involved attendance at certain management meetings whereby industrial relations issues are discussed.

At one such meeting which took place in July 2020, the Complainant submitted that she was subjected to a considerable degree of hostility and an inappropriate line of questioning from the management team. Shortly thereafter, the Complainant submitted a grievance in respect of the adverse treatment she received from members of management.

A meeting in relation to the same took place in October 2020. In advance of this meeting, the Complainant set out the difficulties she had experienced in her role as union representative within the hospital such as experiencing a hostile tone from management, meetings being arranged off-site against her wishes, difficulties in securing agreed time for union activities and issues regarding the provision of PPE equipment, amongst others.

Ultimately, the Complainant was not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation and requested that an appeal be referred to the General Manager on this basis. Despite numerous further requests, the appeal never took place.

The Complainant referred her dispute under the Industrial Relations Acts with the WRC, alleging that she had been subjected to adverse treatment by Management at her place of employment. Furthermore, the Complainant alleged that the Respondent failed to properly investigate her complaints in respect of the adverse treatment suffered.  The Complainant submitted that the Employer’s failure to process the appeal constituted an unacceptable breach of the Employer’s procedures. In conclusion, the Complainant submitted that the manner in which she was treated was profoundly disrespectful and was not befitting of a management team that claimed to be committed to harmonious working relationships.

The Respondent partially denied the allegation- in particular the Complainant’s allegations regarding adverse treatment.

The Respondent submitted that the Complainant’s role as a union representative would inevitably lead to a degree of contention between the parties and that what occurred was a somewhat tense atmosphere created by the challenging positions adopted by the parties.

On receipt of the Complainant’s grievance, the Employer sought to investigate the same by engaging the services of an independent third party. Following a full investigation, the independent third party concluded that while a difference of opinion existed regarding the issues and interactions between the parties during the call, no evidence existed of a concerted campaign against the Worker.

The Adjudication Officer noted that this was a most significant allegation. The adverse treatment alleged by the Complainant could have the effect of impeding her in these duties and may have the effect of serious matters not being brought to the attention of management.

The procedural difficulties in this matter arose with the appeal.  The Employer simply failed to process the appeal and ignored their obligation under the policy in this regard. This failure could not be seen as anything other than a significant breach of procedure and an abdication of their responsibility to the Complainant. Therefore, the Adjudication Officer found that the Respondent’s failure to process the appeal could not be excused or explained by the difficulties they were experiencing at time.

In the circumstances, the Adjudication Officer found that monetary compensation was the most suitable form of remedy and recommended that the Respondent pay the Complainant the sum of €5,000 in settlement of this dispute.

Guidance for Employers

This dispute highlights that the Employer has a significant responsibility to carry out an employee’s appeal process in a formal, swift manner that facilitates resolving the issue as early as is practicable. The Employer in this dispute requested that the Adjudication Officer have regard to the difficulties it was facing at the time, however, the WRC did not accept that the Employer’s service was under a historic level of strain at this point. The Employer in this instance is one of the largest employers in the state with extensive human resources and legal functions. As the initial meeting had been conducted remotely, any subsequent meeting could have been conducted in a similar manner.
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2022/february/adj-00032945.html

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