Labour Court refuses St James’s Hospital worker’s claim for on-call roster

The Labour Court did not recommend that St James’s Hospital concede a worker’s claim to join its on-call roster and receive compensation for past exclusion. The recommendation was dated 20 January 2005. The worker, represented by the Building and Allied Trades Union, was identified in the decision as a Carpentry Service Officer. The union relied on a 2002 document that it said provided for his inclusion in the roster. The hospital said his contract did not require on-call duties or provide an on-call allowance. The Court said the document appeared not to have been ratified through the relevant union decision-making process. It considered it unreasonable to expect the hospital to implement the proposed changes without agreement with the relevant union group.