The WRC rejected sessional pharmacist Dermot Dalton's complaint against the HSE over pay for weekend hours removed after clinic opening times were reduced. In a decision dated 15 July 2021, it found that the disputed hour fell within a band of excess hours and was not a reduction to his basic working week.
Dalton said he had been regularly rostered to work weekends since 2005 and that three hours were deducted from his pay for each weekend after the clinic cut its Saturday and Sunday opening hours in November 2019. He argued that the deduction was unlawful. The HSE said it reduced the weekend sessions to meet service requirements and that regular sessions were not fixed indefinitely.
The WRC found that the change required Dalton to work one hour less. He continued to claim payment for that hour despite not being asked to work it. The WRC concluded that his complaint was not well founded. Its decision rested on the finding that the disputed hour was excess time rather than part of his basic working week.