Labour Court upholds €1,000 bullying compensation recommendation against OPW appeal

The Labour Court disallowed The Office of Public Works’ appeal and upheld a recommendation that a worker receive €1,000 compensation after investigators found that a manager had engaged in mild bullying. The decision was dated 27 January 2006. The investigation did not uphold the complaint against a supervisor, which the worker accepted, but found mild bullying by the manager. The Office of Public Works argued that management had to decide whether to uphold the complaint and that compensation was unwarranted. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union said the manager’s finding should stand. The Court found the inquiry thorough and impartial, and its report clear and based on evidence. It said the personnel manager could not set aside the investigators’ factual findings on the basis of a subjective view of their conclusions.