WRC finds no penalisation in Ann Holden's complaints against Brothers of Charity Southern Services

The Workplace Relations Commission found that three complaints by social worker Ann Holden against Brothers of Charity Southern Services were not well founded. The decision was dated 9 November 2021. Holden alleged that she was penalised through demotion, suspension with pay and unfair disciplinary procedures after making protected disclosures. The employer denied penalisation, saying she retained her grade, status and pay and that the suspension related to a separate disciplinary investigation. The WRC accepted that Holden made a protected disclosure in 2018, but found her 2020 disclosures were part of her ordinary work and did not qualify under the Act. It found no demotion because her grade, status and pay remained unchanged. It also found no link between the 2018 disclosure and the 2021 suspension, and that the disciplinary investigation provided a right to representation and a right to reply.