The Labour Court has issued a recommendation stating that a competition for specialist posts at Kilkenny County Council was not executed in accordance with best practice, and may have deterred candidates from applying for the competition.

Fórsa sought an adjudication at the Labour Court, following the union’s claim that the employer had unilaterally altered the terms of agreed procedures for a specialised Grade VII (internal auditor) post.

Fórsa official Shay Clinton said the changed procedure had put potential candidates off from applying for the post.

“The post would normally have been filled as part of a generic administrative officer competition. However, on this occasion, Kilkenny management proceeded to fill the post as a separate post with desirable qualifications.

“Management were aware that advertising the post in this way was contrary to normal arrangements. Despite objections from the union on behalf of staff, they proceeded regardless,” he said.

Shay added: “The Court stated that a maximum of 27 candidates may have been deterred from applying for the competition.”

Shay said the union’s Kilkenny branch welcomed the recommendation of the court, as it recognised that union engagement was insufficient and failed to address the concerns of staff, prior to the filling of the post.

The Labour Court's recommendation (LCR21792) is available here.