The Workplace Relations Commission recommended that a county council pay a worker €2,307.50 and return him to its winter gritting roster for the 2023/24 season, in a decision dated 31 July 2023. The return was conditional on his accepting the council’s policies in writing, and all recommendations depended on agreement and implementation by the parties.
The dispute followed the worker’s refusal to drive a lorry he considered unsafe while collecting a replacement. The adjudicator found he had refused a reasonable instruction, but also found confusion over whether he was attending an investigation or disciplinary meeting and said the appeal delay was too long.
The adjudicator said both sides contributed to the dispute. The recommendations also called for the council to remove the sanction from the worker’s record if it remained there and to review its breakdown policy.