Workplace Relations Commission adjudicators unhappy over pay and conditions

The external adjudicators paid by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) to decide on the merits of disputes between others are embroiled in one of their own, with frustration growing over the failure of management to address concerns raised over pay and conditions.

About 40 external adjudicators are employed at the WRC to hear cases relating to complaints or disputes arising out of workplaces including many between employers and workers.

Several meetings have taken place in recent months to discuss the issue of their pay, which is not linked to the public sector and so has not risen in line with recent national agreements since 2017 when the current rate of €525 per day was set.

Additional scrutiny

There is also said to be unhappiness among the adjudication officers over a workload that is felt to have increased significantly since the Supreme Court saidin a 2021 ruling that, as the commission is involved in the administration of justice, hearings should be more formal.

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A great many of those hearings are also held in public since the judgment was delivered two years ago. This, the adjudicators feel, has led to additional scrutiny of their work.

A third issue is the tenure of adjudicators who are appointed on the basis of a five-year contract. There had been an expectation among the first group appointed in 2015 that their contracts would be rolled over as they expired, but this did not happen. And though many were reappointed, those in place in 2017 and 2019 are now unhappy about the lack of clarity regarding their positions.

Talks have taken place on several occasions but there has “been no real engagement” on the issues by management. Industrial Relations News, which reported on the situation in its current issue, says some of the adjudicators have raised the possibility of the group, a significant number of whom have legal qualifications or other experience in the industrial relations sphere, seeking representation by a trade union operating in the civil service sector.

Independent contractors

No formal approach has been made to any union so far. Moreover, it is unclear whether such a move might yet happen but it has been confirmed to The Irish Times that an attempt to bring in some form of external representation has been discussed.

In response to several questions on the situation, the Department of Employment, which handles media issues relating to the WRC, said the adjudicators “are independent contractors engaged on a contract for service basis and paid on a per diem rate of €525. Adjudication officers also receive sanction for an additional ‘write up’ day for 3 days of hearings completed.

“Section 40 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 governs the appointment of fixed term adjudications officers, and appointments are accordingly offered for a five-year period only. An open competition was run through the Public Appointments Service (PAS) to replenish the cadre of external adjudication officers in 2021. Another open competition will be run in due course, to which currently serving external adjudication officers will be free to apply.”