An employer should pay a worker €26,319.34 gross after failing to arrange a timely medical assessment and communicate clearance to return to work, a Workplace Relations Commission adjudication officer recommended in a decision dated 9 February 2026.
The officer found the worker was kept out of work unnecessarily from 1 January to 25 November 2024, causing avoidable financial loss. The employer said the worker was on certified sick leave and that a return depended on medical advice. It accepted that medical clearance issued in September 2024 had not been communicated to him.
The officer considered the initial medical referral reasonable given the safety-critical role, but found the assessment process should have progressed sooner and that the delay was not the worker’s fault. The recommendation also calls for a review of his sick leave record and the employer’s procedures for arranging assessments and communicating decisions.