Employee fails to join agency as controlling third party to personal grievance claim...

An employee brought a claim for unjustified dismissal in the Employment Relations Authority after she was dismissed for medical incapacity for continuously failing to come to work over an extended period due to health reasons. 

The employee claimed that her health concerns were due to her following her employer’s policy which caused her to become unwell. 

The policy was crucial to the employer’s health and safety standards within its premises since the employer dealt with the care of elderly people. 

The employee was not happy with the policy and wanted to legally challenge it. As the policy was provided by an external agency, the employee believed the agency should be held responsible for her dismissal. The employee tried to join the agency as a controlling third party to the claim. 

Under our employment law, if an employee is required by their employer to work for a third party, and that employee suffers a personal grievance while working for the third party, the employee will be entitled to join the third party to a personal grievance claim. 

In this case, the Authority declined to join the agency as a third party as there was no contractual relationship between the external agency and the employer.

The employee was not working for the agency, so the agency did not exercise any control or direction over the employee. 

The Authority stated that the rest of the claim for unjustified dismissal against the employer could still be heard. 

Employees wishing to bring a claim against their employer and a controlling third party for a personal grievance should seek legal advice from a legal professional to ensure they correctly bring the right claim and avoid unnecessary litigation. 

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