The Labour Court recommended that the HSE implement its collective agreement maintaining pay linkage between Public Laboratory Scientists and Medical Laboratory Scientists. The Court issued the recommendation on 6 July 2026 and also called for engagement on approval of three Chief Scientist posts.
SIPTU argued that a review accepted by the HSE reaffirmed the pay linkage and recommended restoring three senior scientist positions. The HSE said cost increases required approval and should be dealt with through public-sector bargaining. The Court found the parties had agreed to maintain the linkage and said the HSE should honour that agreement. It recommended that outstanding issues be addressed in future public-sector pay talks and that the parties discuss progress on approval of the posts.