In 1990, the Labour Court recommended that Eastern Health Board make subsistence payments strictly in line with the applicable regulations and the accepted definition of an employee’s headquarters. The recommendation was signed on 9 April 1990.
The dispute followed the Board’s 1987 decision to stop paying subsistence to staff working within its area, including ambulance personnel in Wicklow. Services Industrial Professional Technical Union sought restoration of the previous two-tier arrangement. The Board argued that the payment had already been considered through earlier proceedings and cited financial constraints.
The Court said subsistence payments were governed by regulations amended by agreement and applied to necessary absences from an employee’s base or headquarters. It said the rules should not be interpreted unilaterally to make savings and recommended that payments follow the regulations.