WRC publishes 2022 Annual Report

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) published its Annual Report for 2022, noting the opening of its new Southern regional office in Cork city in October last year, which offers the full suite of WRC services to clients in the region.

Established on 1 October 2015, the WRC has a national footprint with four other regional offices in Carlow, Dublin, Ennis and Sligo. With a wide workforce of just over 200 staff, supplemented by over 40 external adjudicators, the WRC’s mission is to deliver high-quality service nationally, free of charge.

The WRC’s information line dealt with almost 60,000 calls in 2022 - an increase on 2019 when, pre pandemic, the WRC dealt with 55,000 calls. While its website handled over four million pageviews, a 23% increase on 2021.

The annual report showed that in 2022, the Inspectorate of the WRC recovered €1.4 million in unpaid wages for employees and carried out 5,820 inspection visits over the period. In the course of these inspection visits over 5,700 specific contraventions of legislation were detected.

Over the course of 2022, the number of hearings held, and decisions issued by the WRC Adjudication Service each increased by almost 30% and the impacts on case scheduling of Covid 19 and the Supreme Court judgment in 2021 abated significantly during 2022.

The WRC’s Conciliation Service, which is central to maintaining good workplace relations and effective resolution of disputes, resolved 88% of such disputes on which it conciliated during 2022. The Conciliation Service also facilitated discussions which led to the extension of the Building Momentum public service agreement.

Overall, in 2022 there was a 30% increase in parties willing to engage in mediation. The WRC broadened its service model to deliver mediation by default and in person in unfair dismissal complaints. The Commission also began a 6-month pilot ‘late request’ mediation service.