Labour Court dismisses psychiatric nurse’s appeal over allowance calculation

The Labour Court dismissed a psychiatric nurse’s appeal over how his allowance was calculated, upholding the Rights Commissioner’s recommendation. The Court signed its decision on 13 October 2005. The worker, employed by the Health Service Executive in the East Galway Service, received an allowance equal to 90% of the difference between the maximum salaries for Senior Staff Nurse and Clinical Nurse Manager 1. The union argued it should instead use Clinical Nurse Manager 2, since the CNM1 grade no longer existed in his region. The Court said the union’s position had merit but one area could not be separated from the national framework. The HSE maintained that CNM1 remained the next promotional grade and the existing allowance was appropriate.