Labour Court recommends €15,000 each for four former HSE workers

The Labour Court recommended that HSE Dublin North East increase its conciliation offer of €5,000 each to €15,000 each for four former workers, in full and final settlement of their dispute. The recommendation was signed on 15 July 2009. The workers, represented by the Irish Nurses Organisation, had been employed as Public Health Nurses in Meath Community Service. The union alleged bullying and harassment by a manager and said the HSE had failed to address their concerns. The HSE disputed the allegations and said it had made numerous efforts to deal with the situation. The Court said a serious situation existed and senior management had not taken effective, decisive action. It declined to investigate further to allocate blame and recommended an apology for each claimant. Three had resigned and the fourth had transferred; the Court said those who resigned could apply for vacancies and recommended every effort to accommodate the transferred claimant’s wish to return to her original placement.