Labour Court dismisses appeal over changed duties at St Vincent’s Private Hospital

The Labour Court dismissed a worker’s appeal over changes to her duties at St Vincent’s Private Hospital, affirming the Rights Commissioner’s recommendation. The decision was signed on 16 December 2010. The worker, a permanent part-time health care assistant, disputed the hospital’s response to a report of alleged patient mishandling. She said her work had become mainly cleaning duties. The hospital said it chose informal counselling rather than disciplinary action after concerns about patient care. The Court found the worker had not been disciplined or found to have committed misconduct, and that the change in duties was made because of patient-care concerns, not as a disciplinary sanction. It found the hospital acted fairly and said the worker’s record should be confirmed as clear of disciplinary warnings.