WRC recommends €500 over unfair disciplinary process

The WRC recommended that an employer pay a worker €500 after finding the disciplinary process for a timekeeping warning unfair. The recommendation was dated 22 August 2023. The worker’s first dispute also alleged bullying, penalisation for making a personal injury claim and unpaid sick pay. The WRC was not satisfied that he was entitled to sick pay or had been bullied or penalised. It found the warning process unfair because the hearing combined the disciplinary issue with a grievance, and people previously involved in the decision heard the appeal. The officer recommended no significant payment, noting that the worker had resigned and received the lowest possible sanction. A second dispute concerned alleged forced resignation. The WRC made no recommendation on it because the termination had been considered separately under the Unfair Dismissals Acts.