Courts / Ireland / Report

HSE workers denied Covid recognition payment granted to others doing same jobs elsewhere

Summary

A Workplace Relations Commission adjudicator has recommended that the Health Service Executive (HSE) pay a civil registrar a €1,000 Pandemic Special Recognition Payment. The applicant, identified as Hse Hr, alleged her application was unfairly declined despite performing identical duties to colleagues in other geographic areas who received the award. The HSE admitted that staff in other regions doing the same work were granted the payment but argued that its HR managers followed guidance documentation, viewing the Civil Registration Office as not a Covid-19 exposed clinical setting due to controls in place. The applicant stated she worked on-site without personal protective equipment or early vaccine access, conducting high-risk services such as marriage ceremonies. The adjudicator noted that the HSE representatives accepted the applicant was properly included in the first vaccination cohort and that the work could not be distinguished from that of paid colleagues. Citing natural and constitutional justice, the adjudicator found that employees in the same grouping should be treated uniformly. The HSE was ordered to pay the €1,000 ex-gratia sum within 42 days. The decision was issued under the Industrial Relations Act 1969, with the HSE identified as the respondent due to the specific nature of the dispute.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: HSE workers denied Covid recognition payment granted to others doing same jobs elsewhere. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• May 2022 Other
• 2024-06-06 Publication

Why: "A view had been taken that because of the controls in place, the Civil Registration Office was not considered to be a Covid-19 exposed healthcare or clinical setting," the tribunal was told. CNI source report

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Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report