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With INMO director of industrial relations Phil Ní Sheaghdha
Query from member
I recently suffered an injury at work and was on paid sick leave. My employer tells me that I should have claimed social welfare for some of this and reimbursed them the amount I received on social welfare. I was not aware of this and I wonder could you explain the requirements and also if my employer was responsible. How do I lodge a claim against them for compensation?
Reply
The whole area of injury at work is very complicated as it involves the Department of Social Welfare, your employer under the Pension Scheme and Sick Leave Scheme and also the area that you raise in respect of personal injuries and compensation from your employer. I will set out each of the areas separately.
Superannuation (Pension) Scheme
All nurses and midwives employed in the public health service contribute to a superannuation scheme applicable to their employment.
Certain public service superannuation schemes provide for the payment of an allowance where an employee suffers an occupational injury or contracts an occupational disease where certain conditions are met.
The INMO has had difficulty in getting members’ entitlements in this area secured and is pursuing a number of cases to third parties currently. It is important that members understand that the period of time during which a person receives an injury grant is not recognised for pension purposes.
Social welfare
In respect of social welfare, the general information and guidelines the INMO has given to members are that there are three steps that should be followed in the event that you have an accident at work or you acquire an illness/disease at work.
Personal injuries compensation
If you believe that your employer failed in their duty of care to you as an employee, and you sustained a workplace injury as a result, you are entitled to claim personal injury compensation from the Injury Board. You must apply to the Injuries Board for this in addition to your application for social welfare or indeed, anything relating to your sick leave, via your employer.
The INMO has an insurance scheme for members to assist in processing such claims. This is a free service to members and your industrial relations representative can advise you on it. Before you can take any action, you must have filled out an accident form at work and notified your employer that you believe your injury results from this accident, which is recorded as happening in your workplace. You should also obtain a medical report from your doctor and as with any scheme, it is important that you keep personal records.
Conclusion
These schemes are complicated as some benefits are derived from social welfare, some from your workplace sick pay scheme and some from your pension scheme. Therefore, you may need to meet with your IRO, who can go through the particular details of your case and advise on your best option. The INMO holds information sessions on these schemes for members in local workplaces. Contact your local nurse representative or branch officer about organising this and we would be happy to hold such a session to ensure members know their entitlements, and these are upheld and implemented by the employer.
Query from member
I work in a public service hospital and have been taking every Friday as parental leave for the past six months. Recently my employer has advised that this is not a formal agreement and is seeking to review the manner in which I take parental leave. This method of granting me parental leave was agreed with my line manager and I have planned my childminding around this arrangement. I would be grateful if you could set out my entitlements in this regard.
Reply
As yo u are aware, the manner in which parental leave is taken, if not taken as a block of leave, has to be agreed with the employer. A formal document should be signed by both the employee and the employer, setting out the terms on which this agreement is arrived at and how it will apply.
From your question, it is not clear as to whether you have this formal documentation or not. If you have, it is simply a matter of enforcing your agreement. It you don’t, it would be a matter of arguing that despite the absence of a written agreement, an agreement was arrived at which now has to be honoured.
The arguments you make in respect of a disturbance are all arguments that can be made to support your case. In the first instance, you should have a meeting with your line manager.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of this meeting, seek to meet your assistant director of nursing or director of nursing to appeal the decision of your line manager. In the event that this does not resolve the situation, contact your INMO industrial relations officer and request that they represent you in respect of this matter. The INMO can then contact your employer with a view to seeking the best outcome for you. If needs be, we can refer the matter to a third party, a Rights Commissioner, with a view to having the approach your employer has taken to this examined.
All of this takes time so therefore, you should immediately engage with your employer and seek to have the matter addressed. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions or queries in respect of this issue.
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Questions & Answers - Bulletin Board |