March 2016 4 1
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hatwasRichardBrutonthinking
ofwhenhereferredtosettingup
a“worldclass”service,toestab-
lishinganewentitythatis“all
aboutmaking Irelandthebest
small country to do business in”, when he
launcheda“neweraforemploymentrightsand
industrialrelations”?Theanswer,surprisingly,
istheWorkplaceRelationsCommissioninsti-
gated last October with a cacophony of
overblownrhetoric.Withallthefuss,itcomes
asasurprisewhenthis“worldclass”service
saysitcan’tadjudicateonsomeoftheequality
caseswithinitsremit.
Itrecentlystateditdidnothavetheresources
todealwithcasesofdiscriminationbyland-
lords against tenants in receipt of rent
allowance.KieranMulvey,itsDirectorGeneral,
was quoted as suggesting “We are not the
appropriatebodyforthis,thisisnotawork
-
place issue”. This is troubling given the
Workplace Relations Commission is in fact
boundtoadjudicateoncasesinabroadrange
ofeldsbeyondtheworkplace,undertheEqual
StatusAct,
Itisindicative,however,ofadeepermalaise
with the Workplace Relations Commission.
RichardBrutondidadd,withpride,thatthis
new“worldclass”servicewaslaunchedwith
20%fewerstaffand10%lessmoneythanits
predecessororganisations”.Whodidhethink
hewasfoolingwithhisinatedverbiage?
TheWorkplaceRelationsCommissionwas
establishedinOctober2015throughthemerger
ofveorganisations:theEqualityTribunal,the
National Employment Rights Agency, the
EmploymentAppealsTribunal,theLabourRela-
tionsCommission,andtheLabourCourt.The
EqualityTribunalhadbeenakeypartofthe
equalityinfrastructureandsitsuncomfortably
inthisnewentitywithamandatethatstretches
beyondemploymentrightstodiscriminationin
theprovisionofgoodsandservices,education,
andaccommodation.
TheEmploymentLawAssociationofIreland
(ELAI)isnotimpressed.Theyraisedsomefun-
damentalissuesinaFebruary2016submission:
abouttheadjudicationofcasesandthecompe-
tency of the adjudication officers, the
pre-hearingprocessandcomplaintsubmission,
andmediation.
TheELAInotethattherulesofprocedureof
theWorkplaceRelationsCommissiondonot
addresshowhearingsaretobeconducted.It
identiesconcernsamongitsmembersthat
“thereis inconsistency in how Adjudication
Ofcersapplybasicrulesoffairprocedure;for
example,thepermissibilityofcross-examina-
tionandtheapplicationofrulesofevidence”.
Casesareheardinprivateandtheredoesnot
appeartobeanymonitoringofdecisionsby
AdjudicationOfcers.TheELAIisconcerned
thattherules“donotguaranteeusers’consti-
tutionallyprotectedrighttoafairhearing”.
Itisfurtherconcernedthatthe“framework
forappointingandtrainingAdjudicationOfc-
ersissubstandard”.Thereisnoclarityastothe
qualicationsorexpertiserequiredofAdjudica-
tionOfcersorwhattrainingtheyget.Thisis
damninggiventhebroadspreadofcasesthey
nowhavetodealwith.TheELAIsuggeststhere
hasbeena“dilutionofexpertise”fromthespe-
cialisationthathaddevelopedamongstaffin
thepredecessorbodies.
RichardBrutonmademuchoftheimportance
ofmediationincasesconcerningemployment
rights.Itwouldappear,however,thatthemedi-
ationserviceisunder-resourcedandcannot
meetdemand.
Itbecomeseverclearerthatthisisnotaser-
vice set up to be “world class” but to save
money.TheELAInotesthatsomeofitsmem-
bersrecountinstances“wherebothpartiesto
adisputehaverequestedmediationbutthat
requesthasbeenrejectedbytheWRC”.
TheELAInotesthatwhilemostcomplainants
arenotrequiredtodetailthesubstanceoftheir
complaintwhenitisbeinglodged,“exception-
ally,complainantsmustprovidesubstantive
detail for allegations of discrimination and
constructivedismissal.”.Theguidancegivenby
the Workplace Relations Commission for
employeesmakingacomplaintofdiscrimina-
tionrequiresthat“thecomplainantmustsetout
thefacts,thelinkbetweentheground(s)cited
andtheallegeddiscrimination,anyotherrele-
vantinformationand,whereappropriate,any
legal points the complainant may wish to
make”.
UndertheproceduresoftheformerEquality
Tribunalsuchastatementwasonlyrequired
whensubmissionswererequestedsometime
afterthecomplaintwaslodged.Theapproach
oftheWorkplaceRelationsCommissionmakes
itmoredifcultforcomplainantstolodgeacase
ofdiscrimination,increasestheneedforlegal
representationatanearlystagewithadditional
costs,andreducesaccesstojustice.
Thisisonlytherstyearofoperationofthe
WorkplaceRelationsCommission.Thereisstill
time togetitright.However,it isclear that
urgentactionisrequiredtoensurepeopleare
able to vindicate their rights. As paid work
becomesevermoreprecariousandasdiscrimi-
nationpersistsathighlevels,theweakeningof
ourrightsinfrastructureinthiswaymustmust
notbeaccepted.
Its approach makes
it more difficult for
complainants to lodge
a case of discrimination,
increases the need for
legal representation
at an early stage with
additional costs, and
reduces access to justice
World Crass
The new Workplace Relations
Commission has weakened the rights
infrastructure regarding landlords
and there are problems with funding,
procedures, fairness and expertise
OPINION
by Niall
Crowley
EGALITARIAN
THE

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