Labour Court awards public health nurse €2,812.65 for extra hours

The Labour Court allowed a public health nurse’s appeal and awarded her €2,812.65 for additional hours worked for the Health Service Executive Dublin Mid-West. In a decision dated 20 February 2014, the Court varied a Rights Commissioner’s recommendation that she accept time off in lieu. The worker, represented by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, said she continued working 20 hours a week and management assured her she would be paid for the extra time. The HSE said the hours were additional work rather than an underpayment, and offered time off in lieu. The Court found that her payslip did not show the error and that financial-emergency legislation did not prevent payment. It treated the extra hours as overtime and said she should be paid because she had not agreed to take time off instead. The HSE calculated the amount at €2,812.65, which the union did not dispute. Her request to adjust annual leave did not arise.