WRC awards Pjotrs Ivahno €2,000 in dispute over clinic education grant

The Workplace Relations Commission found Pjotrs Ivahno’s Payment of Wages complaint against Galway Clinic Doughiska Limited well founded and directed the clinic to pay him €2,000 net compensation. Adjudication Officer Janet Hughes dated the decision 21 September 2021. Ivahno, a resident medical officer, complained that the clinic denied him access to a contractual education and research grant after he resigned. The clinic argued that the grant was discretionary, required advance approval and fell outside the wages rules. The officer found that the grant formed part of Ivahno’s remuneration and that the clinic had applied an unwritten restriction not found in the contract or policy. Although Ivahno had incurred no costs, the officer found he had been denied contractual support for an educational programme and set compensation at €2,000 net.