The Labour Court recommended that Mayo General Hospital concede a claim for unpaid unrostered overtime worked by non-consultant hospital doctors. The recommendation was signed on 4 March 2011. The hospital accepted that the money was due, and the Court said there was no justification for withholding payment for the hours worked.
The Irish Medical Organisation said the doctors were entitled to be paid for all hours worked and that the money should be paid immediately. Mayo General Hospital said the HSE had instructed it to eliminate unrostered overtime, and argued that conceding the claim would have serious budgetary and national implications.
The Court found the doctors had worked the overtime at their line managers’ direction or with their approval. The hospital’s only defence concerned its financial and budgetary circumstances. The Court regarded the union’s claim as reasonable and recommended that it be conceded.