The Workplace Relations Commission found that the Health Service Executive breached working-time law by rostered shifts that left nursing manager Fiona Ruane with less than 11 consecutive hours of rest on one occasion each week. It awarded her €2,500.
The decision was dated 5 April 2023. Ruane worked at Teach Ban, a psychiatric community residence in Dublin. She said she lacked the required daily rest and that two breaks during her workday were too long. The HSE did not dispute the shift pattern, saying the roster had been agreed with her union and discussions about changing the hours were ongoing.
The law requires 11 consecutive hours of rest in each 24-hour period worked. The WRC found that Ruane started work within 11 hours of finishing her previous shift. It rejected her separate complaint about break length: the law sets minimum break periods, not maximums, and the decision found she received the required minimum breaks. The formal Decision section identifies the complaint as CA-00046916-001, although the complaints table lists CA-00046915-001.