Labour Court recommends National Ambulance Service reject paramedics’ compensation claim

The Labour Court recommended that the National Ambulance Service should not concede the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union’s claim for compensation over delayed paramedic appointments. The recommendation was dated 24 June 2019. The union said the delay in appointing the claimants as paramedics in 2011 reduced their earnings and argued that the service had acknowledged the impact by amending its transfer policy. The service said the events happened before an employment relationship began and that the claim was barred as a cost-increasing claim under public service agreements. The Court said the delay followed new qualification requirements set independently of the HSE by the education provider in June 2010. The claimants’ appeals through the Commission for Public Service Appointments process ended in early 2011, and they were recruited in May. The Court said it had no function in reviewing compliance with that process and did not recommend concession of the claim.