Labour Court rejects worker’s appeal over HSE ambulance roster

The Labour Court rejected a worker’s appeal over claims that excessive hours made his work unsafe at the HSE Ambulance Service. The decision was signed on 19 November 2010. The Court said it could not conclude that the agreed roster breached statutory provisions. The worker, represented by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, provided relief cover at different ambulance stations. The union said his hours were excessive and the roster left him working up to 48 hours at a time. The HSE said his deployment followed agreed procedures and was not unsafe. At Ennistymon Ambulance Station, the Court recorded an average of just over 51 hours a week during the 3½-month period examined. It said the Working Time Act roster question was outside its remit under the Industrial Relations Acts, and the period was too short to establish whether the HSE breached a statutory provision. The Court did not accept that the HSE had failed to provide a safe place of work.