The WRC recommended that a hospital pay a theatre porter €14,000 in back pay and bring his terms into line with a management-union agreement, in a recommendation dated 23 August 2023.
The worker said he received less beneficial terms than a comparator doing the same work. The hospital said he was not in the group originally identified for the agreement and that it was constrained by national pay scales.
The adjudication officer found that the worker became a theatre porter before the agreement was finalised and that his exclusion appeared to be an oversight. The officer said his terms were less beneficial than the comparator’s, an outcome that was unfair and inequitable, though unintended. The WRC recommended that the hospital recognise his coverage under the agreement, pay €14,000 within 28 days and amend his terms within the same period.