The Labour Court rejected the Health Service Executive’s appeal and upheld a €20,000 compensation award to Mayo University Hospital worker Noel Jennings. The Court found the HSE penalised him for making a workplace complaint. Its determination was signed 1 March 2022.
Jennings had complained about alleged bullying by a colleague and asked not to be rostered alongside her. After he made a formal complaint in July 2015, the HSE moved him from the hospital’s Paediatric Ward to other locations. He said the changes disrupted his working pattern and reduced his access to premium-paid Sunday shifts.
The HSE argued that the move responded to Jennings’s request and protected the colleague’s rights while the complaint was investigated. The Court found Jennings would not have been relocated but for making his complaint and that the HSE had not shown it considered a less drastic option. It also accepted that he had previously avoided working with the colleague through shift swaps and leave.