Labour Court sets aside HSE South (East) nurse’s specialist allowance recommendation

The Labour Court set aside a recommendation that HSE South (East) pay a staff nurse a specialist qualification allowance. Its decision was signed on 19 May 2017. The nurse, represented by INMO, had completed postgraduate study in Gerontological Nursing and sought the allowance. The union cited the nurse’s work training colleagues and examples of nurses receiving allowances at other hospitals. HSE South (East) argued that eligibility required employment in a designated care-of-the-elderly unit. The Court found that the nurse worked in a general medical ward, not a designated unit, and recommended that the Adjudication Officer’s recommendation be set aside.