Labour Court recommends national conciliation for Wexford General Hospital on-call rest dispute

The Labour Court recommended that Wexford General Hospital and 6 Craft Workers (represented by Connect Trade Union) address their dispute over rest after on-call callouts through national WRC conciliation. The recommendation was dated 18 December 2025. The union sought minimum rest periods under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, arguing that the workers were not covered by exemptions in the 1998 regulations. The hospital said it could rely on statutory derogations and provided compensatory rest. The Court said it could not rule on the interpretation or application of separate working-time legislation in an Industrial Relations Act referral, and considered national conciliation the appropriate forum for the parties' differences.