• Read the WRC practice note - Information for Practitioners/Representatives. 

Practice note contents

Some of the main elements of the note are summarised as follows:

1. When a complaint is submitted online, the complainant should promptly receive an acknowledgement of the complaint by email. The WRC asks practitioners not to submit a duplicate hard copy of complaints that have been submitted online and acknowledged by email. Submitting a duplicate copy may have the effect of causing the WRC to open a duplicate claim file and schedule duplicate hearings into the same matter.
2. Where a complaint involves several respondents, a separate complaint should be made in respect of each respondent. In order to ensure that only one hearing is scheduled, each complaint form should refer to the fact that linked complaints have been submitted. The complaint form should include a request that the different complaints should be heard as one.
3. Complainants are encouraged to provide accurate contact details for relevant representatives of the respondent, including the respondent’s HR managers and legal representatives if known.
4. If a party proposes to refer to documents during an adjudication hearing, these documents should be submitted to the WRC and copied to the other party well in advance of the date of the hearing. Submissions and supporting documentation made more than 14 days in advance of the hearing can be emailed to submissions@workplacerelations.ie. Submissions made within 14 days of the hearing should be sent to pru@workplacerelations.ie.

WRC practice notes

The practice note refers to the WRC’s earlier practice note, ‘Procedures in the investigations and adjudication of employment and equality complaints,’ which remains in effect and is available on the WRC website. 

Practice notes from the WRC do not have statutory authority. 

eNewsletters

This article originally appeared in the Law Society eZine. For more information on the eZine and other online publications, visit the eNewsletters page.