Labour Court recommends ending Pobal grading review over 112 Early Years Specialists

The Labour Court recommended that Pobal and 112 Early Years Specialist Grade staff accept that an agreed review of the group’s grading and salary scale had been completed. Any continuing pay claim should be taken forward as a new claim under agreed procedures. The recommendation was signed on 20 December 2023. The union sought five extra incremental points on the salary scale after an independent review recommended that Pobal consider extending it. The review found the staff correctly graded at Grade 2. Pobal argued that it could not extend the scale because of budget constraints and potential knock-on effects across the organisation. The employer estimated a cost of €1.2 million over five years for the 112 workers, rising to €2.16 million when potential related claims were included.