The WRC rejected Debbie Ferguson’s claims against the Health Service Executive for pay as a Clinical Nurse Manager 2 and a statement of terms for that role. The decision was dated 15 October 2021.
Ferguson said she had performed the higher-grade duties from 2012 until taking another post in March 2021, without the corresponding pay. She sought more than €36,000 in back pay and a written statement of terms. The HSE disputed that she had been appointed to the role and argued that the claims were outside the statutory time limits.
The adjudicator found there was no written contract offering Ferguson the CNM2 post or setting a pay rate. The Payment of Wages Act complaint failed because no amount properly payable had been agreed and there had been no deduction of such an amount. The terms complaint also failed: Ferguson had a contract for the grade to which she was appointed, and the adjudicator would not impose a contract for a disputed upgraded post.
Both complaints were found not well founded. The adjudicator acknowledged that Ferguson had received assurances from HSE managers and had been given the run around, but found those circumstances did not establish either claim.