A public health service worker will continue as a mobile health care assistant on night duty after a Workplace Relations Commission recommendation on his roster and ward assignment. The recommendation was dated 23 August 2024.
The worker sought a return to his habitual ward and a permanent pattern of seven consecutive night shifts followed by seven nights off, along with restored sick leave and compensation for lost earnings. The employer said the seven-night pattern was neither advisable nor available, though it would allow him to return to his habitual base. The adjudicator found merit in the dispute and recommended preserving one month of paid sick leave for possible future use. The worker’s mobile night duty role is to be reviewed with his line manager after a year, and the recommendation says this arrangement will preserve his earnings. The worker accepted that a permanent seven-night pattern was not available.