The Labour Court recommended that East Coast Area Health Board re-offer five control-room posts to successful internal candidates after most of those selected in the first competition declined them. The recommendation, dated 19 January 2001, followed a dispute with the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union over external recruitment.
Seventeen internal workers applied and seven were deemed suitable, but only two took up posts. The union said the jobs should have gone to internal applicants under a longstanding agreement. The Board said there was no formal agreement and it sought external applicants after most successful candidates declined. The Court said no written agreement had been produced, but accepted that the established practice was to advertise internally first. It found the Board had done so and that its actions could not be characterised as a breach of agreement.
The Court recommended that the five candidates be offered the posts at Grade III and given no more than two weeks to respond. The recommendation was not intended to affect people appointed after a later internal competition.