Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
1231. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of cases waiting for a hearing and waiting for a decision by number of months waiting at the Workplace Relations Commission in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33590/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) was established on 1 October 2015 and is, inter alia, the body with statutory responsibility for investigation and adjudication of complaints at first instance under a wide range of employment rights, equality and industrial relations legislation. Cases are heard by Adjudication Officers who are independent in the discharge of their statutory functions. Decisions of Adjudication Officers can be appealed to the Labour Court except for cases under the Equal Status Acts which are appealable to the Circuit Court.
The WRC currently has 3,140 live complaint applications in the process of either being registered, scheduled for a hearing or where parties have accepted a date for hearing, as follows:
|
Months |
Number of Complaint Applications |
|
<3 months |
1048 |
|
3-6 months |
382 |
|
6-9 months |
180 |
|
12 months + |
1530 |
|
Total |
3140 |
The WRC is in a position to offer dates for a hearing for all complaints within 7-8 weeks, once the registration process is completed. However, requests for postponements are received in one fifth of all complaints scheduled for hearing due to the unavailability of one, or both, parties.
Nonetheless, in the 2017 Annual Report, the WRC reported that, over 90% of cases are processed from receipt to hearing and decision in less than six months where no requests for postponements are received, where all parties are available, and where submissions are received in a timely manner.
There are 1,530 cases awaiting hearing for more than twelve months. These cases are “on hold” for a number of reasons and cannot be progressed further by the WRC.
Currently there are 1,473 Adjudication Files which have been heard and a decision is pending as follows:
|
Months |
Number of Decisions Awaited |
|
<3 months |
864 |
|
3-6 months |
419 |
|
6-9 months |
129 |
|
12 months + |
61 |
|
Total |
1473 |
It should be noted that following a hearing an Adjudication Officer may often require a party to submit additional information. Fair procedures dictate that the other side is afforded the opportunity to provide observations on this material. When this happens delays in completing decisions arise.
The WRC medium-term goal, as expressed in their 2017 Work Programme, is to process the majority of complaints in less than six months and, absent particular reasons, all complaints in less than nine months.
