The Labour Court recommended that Galway University Hospital standardise working hours for Clinical Services Sterile Department staff after a dispute over a staff nurse’s 39-hour week. The recommendation was signed on 8 November 2011. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union sought the 37.5-hour week agreed for nursing staff. The hospital argued that agreement covered only staff directly engaged in nursing duties and that reducing the hours could disrupt the department and lead to further claims. The Court said both sides had merit: an immediate reduction would be disruptive, but the worker had been appointed on terms that had since changed. It recommended standardising hours for all CSSD staff under the Public Service Agreement and considering the claim in that context.
Labour Court recommends standardising hospital sterile-services hours
Historic decision · Decision date:
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