Labour Court recommends £200 payment in cook promotion dispute

In 1991, the Labour Court recommended that Eastern Health Board make a £200 ex-gratia payment to a worker who was not appointed to a permanent Grade II cook position. The recommendation, dated 16 December 1991, replaced a £400 recommendation by a Rights Commissioner. The worker had acted in the role from 1986 until another candidate was appointed after an open competition in 1990. The Board said her 1987 application arrived nine days after the closing date and that permanent appointments had to follow the selection procedure. Services Industrial Professional Technical Union said she had done the job for years and had initially been told she lacked the required experience. The Court accepted that the application was late and that the appointment procedure had not been breached. It also found the Rights Commissioner should not have referred to the worker’s status as a widow. The Court nevertheless recommended the payment, citing events that may have led her to misunderstand the outcome.