Labour Court recommends changes to Mount Carmel Hospital rates and leave

The Labour Court recommended changes to theatre on-call rates and annual leave at Mount Carmel Hospital, while recommending restoration of the annual leave premium. Its recommendation, signed on 17 September 2012, followed a dispute with the INMO over four employment issues. The hospital said severe financial difficulties required it to reduce costs. The INMO opposed cuts to established allowances and leave, and said the premium payment had not been made for 2011. The Court recommended aligning on-call rates with revised standard rates and compensating affected nurses with a buy-out equal to 1.5 times each person's annual loss. It also recommended standardising annual leave with public service buy-out arrangements, restoring the annual leave premium with arrears phased by agreement, and having permanent night staff rotate to day shifts for training while retaining the night duty rate.