The Workplace Relations Commission recommended that a specialised service pay a clinical nurse manager €12,523.50 in retrospective specialist qualification allowance after finding inequity in how it treated her and a classmate. The recommendation was dated 22 August 2023.
The worker said she completed a higher diploma in 2006 and asked whether she qualified for the allowance, but was incorrectly told she was ineligible because of her grade. She later learned that a classmate doing similar work had received it. The worker reapplied in January 2021 and was granted the allowance from then.
The employer said it had no record of an earlier application and argued that the worker should have pursued a grievance. The officer found that the service lacked a clear process for recording course completion and a consistent application form. She also found the employer had not given a sufficient reason for treating the classmates differently, and that the worker had been left behind after requesting access to the allowance in 2006.
The officer recommended that the service revise its application system and agree a form with the worker. She also recommended payment of the difference between the specialist qualification and location allowances from completion of the diploma to January 2021, less the duplicate payment made in 2021. The recommended payment is €12,523.50.