WRC recommends €5,000 payment over five-year investigation delay

The WRC recommended that a Health Service Provider pay a Health Care Assistant €5,000 after an investigation into a complaint against her remained unfinished for more than five years. In a recommendation dated 11 September 2024, Adjudication Officer Ewa Sobanska found the delay violated fair procedures. The worker, represented by SIPTU, said the employer had not progressed the complaint or followed its grievance and dignity-at-work procedures. The employer said an internal investigation was under way and argued that the worker had not exhausted those procedures. The officer found that the investigation was still incomplete at the June 2024 hearing and that the employer had not acted on the worker’s separate grievance about the delay. The WRC recommended that the employer meet with the worker within two weeks to explain the investigation’s status and how it would be completed, then conclude the investigation within three months. It also recommended €5,000 for the distress caused by the delay and the employer’s handling of the matter.