Personal Cases

PERSONAL CASES

The Union provides advice, assistance and/or representation for members in “personal cases” in relation to a wide variety of issues.  Normally individual cases are processed by the Branch assisted, as necessary, by the Area representative and the relevant official. All personal cases are covered by the following policy:

The Union acts in good faith in pursuance of an individual member’s case and requires that the individual member will also act in good faith. Therefore, the Union requires the information supplied by a member to be truthful, accurate, complete and correct and does not accept liability for any errors or omissions arising from information supplied by individual members. The Union advises members that the outcome of any case referred to a third party case is unpredictable and that there is no guarantee of a desired outcome being achieved. The Union does not accept liability for any loss incurred by a member arising from the outcome of a third-party case.

Where the Union is processing a case on behalf of a member through the statutory industrial relations mechanisms, the Courts or any other appropriate forum and the member decides to engage other representation without the prior, written agreement of the Union at Head Office level, the Union will withdraw from providing representation for that case and will not accept either liability for costs incurred or responsibility for the outcome. Where a member requests Union assistance and/or representation in processing a case, the Union will not be in a position to accede to the request if the member is otherwise represented.
In circumstances where the Union pursues a legal case on behalf of a member and the member is successful and receives compensation and/or costs, the amount of the costs and outlay incurred by the Union shall be repaid by the member out of the costs and/or compensation recei
ved.


As a matter of course, Branch Officers must advise members that the discussion of a case is private union business, is confidential and may not be recorded.  This applies to Union meetings, meetings with the employer or telephone conversations.
If it emerges that a member has secretly recorded union business that member should be requested to delete/destroy the recording and any other copies they have made or circulated.  It should be made clear to the member that to make a secret recording of union business in this manner, is a serious matter that will be treated as such by the Union.

PERSONAL CASES (Second Level)
If you need clarification on an issue related to your salary (including incremental credit and allowances) or conditions of service etc. you should seek advice and assistance from your
Workplace Committee Representative in the first instance. If required, the Representative should seek assistance from the Branch Officers and/or the Area Representative (TUI Executive Committee member). Every effort should be made in the first instance to secure clarifications, pre-empt difficulties/problems and
resolve issues that arise at school/college/centre level by way of direct engagement/discussion with local management. In this regard, members should consult the Protocol on Workplace Operation developed between TUI and the Principals’ and Deputy Principals’ Association (PDA) which is available on the TUI website.

If the issue is not resolved informally and you believe you have a justified claim with regard to rates of pay, employment status, qualification allowances or incremental credit you should submit a claim with all supporting documentation to the employer in the first instance. If the response is unsatisfactory you should advise your Workplace Committee Representative, (who may in turn seek
the assistance of the Branch officers and/or the Area Representative.) Branches and Area Representatives may, in turn, seek assistance from their designated official.

The following procedure will apply:

  1. The issue/problem should be raised through your Workplace Committee/School or Branch Representative with the ETB or Board of Management.
     
  2. If the ETB or Board accepts the Union’s representations but requires sanction from the Department of Education and Skills then the ETB or Board of Management should submit a proposal to the Department for sanction.
     
  3. If the ETB or Board of Management refuses to submit a proposal, or if the sanction is either not forthcoming or is refused by the Department, you should inform the Branch Secretary who will bring the matter to the attention of Head Office.
     
  4. In the case of a refusal from the Department, the ETB or Board of Management must be asked to appeal the Department’s decision and, if possible, set out supporting argument for the appeal.
     
  5. Failure to receive sanction at this stage will normally end representations from the Union. However, if the Department’s decision to refuse sanction is regarded by the Executive Committee as unacceptable, one final appeal may be made to the appropriate Assistant Secretary General, or to the Secretary General of the Department.

The Union liaises with the employer to deal with personal cases which have been processed as above. When contacting the Union with your case it is vital that all relevant information and copies of all relevant documents should be enclosed in order that representations on your behalf may have the greatest chance of
success.

PERSONAL CASES (Third Level)
Personal cases in the Institutes of Technology/Technological Universities or other third level colleges are normally dealt with by the Workplace Committee Representative in the first instance. If the matter is not resolved it can be referred to the Branch Officers, who can request the assistance of the Area Representative or the designated Official at Head Office. The normal and preferred practice is to seek to
resolve personal cases by means of the informal process. Where
personal cases remain unresolved, the formal individual grievance
procedures may be invoked by the Branch Officers on behalf of the
member.
Referral of cases to the formal statutory industrial relations mechanisms must be done through Head Office if the union’s support is to be availed of. This includes referrals to the Workplace Relations Commission, Labour Court or Health and Safety Authority).

Cases referred to the statutory industrial relations mechanisms are subject to time limits which range from 6 months to 12 months, depending on the Act under which the case is lodged. Therefore, cases must be lodged through TUI Head Office, promptly and, in any event, well before the applicable time limits are reached. In this regard, the relevant TUI official must be notified of the case without delay.

Contracts of Indefinite Duration
Individual cases relating to fixed-term contract holders’ entitlement to contracts of indefinite duration (CID) should be referred to TUI Head Office for consideration prior to referral to the Adjudicator. Please note there is a time limit of 4 weeks (from the date of refusal by the employer to offer an appropriate CID) for submitting cases.

Disciplinary cases
Where a member is subject to a disciplinary matter by an employer they are strongly advised to notify a Branch Officer immediately. Members are advised not to attend disciplinary meeting(s) without union representation.

Qualification allowances
Cases where the level of qualification allowance/s is in dispute should be referred to the Qualification Allowance Appeals Board.


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