Flute teacher to appeal WRC ruling he was not a whistleblower
The
Workplace Relations Commission (WRC)
has rejected a claim under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 by Hugh Rance, a long-serving music teacher at the Cork Education and Training Board School of Music.
The tribunal has dismissed Mr Rance's case with a ruling that his claims alleging 'waste and misuse of public funds' by the management of the school in late 2023, due to the level of vacant teaching hours, did not amount to a protected act.
Mr Rance, who appeared before the WRC last year as a lay litigant, said he was taking legal advice and intended to appeal the ruling to the Labour Court.
READ MORE
At a hearing last August at the WRC's offices on Eglinton Street in Cork, Mr Rance said he and some of his colleagues had been paid for an 'enormous number' of teaching hours with student vacancies over the preceding five years.
He said the problem had been building up since 2011, when responsibility for recruiting new students passed from the music teachers themselves to staff at Cork Education and Training Board (CETB) School of Music's main office.
He told the Commission he calculated that his own teaching hours were 63 per cent vacant, costing the State in the region of €50,000 a year – calling it a 'waste and misuse of public funds' and 'gross mismanagement'.
Mr Rance said that having discussed the matter with his colleagues, he discovered that 18 music teachers at the school had 'excess vacant hours for a number of years' – their rates of unutilised teaching hours ranging from 35 per cent to 70 per cent in one case.
In a September 2023 email, Mr Rance wrote to a manager referring to 'serious implications of fiscal irresponsibility' and an 'ineffective recruitment strategy'. He said this had resulted in a situation where 'a teacher ends up, as is now the case, with 11 students instead of between 30 and 40 students'.
'This has resulted in only having enough students to teach for nine hours a week, instead of the contracted 22 hours for which they are paid,' Mr Rance's email said.
He said 'all the flute teachers' had student vacancies in October 2024 and he was aware that 18 music teachers had 'excess vacant hours for a number of years'.
The email 'bounced back' as that manager 'no longer worked' at the organisation, the tribunal heard. Mr Rance then emailed Denis Leamy, the chief executive of the Cork ETB, on October 2nd, with a copy of the September 30th letter. The complainant asked the chief executive to 'personally review the email and letter and let me know what your intentions are in resolving the issues referred to'.
He denied a suggestion that he bears a 'personal vendetta' against the school principal, Carol Daly – and insists he just wanted to see the school 'back on track'.
The chief executive, Mr Leamy, said of the October 2nd email: 'It was not new news. We knew about vacancies.'
He said Mr Rance had caused 'a good deal of upset to staff' with 'a continuum of threats ... on Freedom of Information, Protected Disclosure and data access deadlines', which had taken 'thousands of hours' for administrators to address.
He said CETB had determined that the October 2nd, 2023 email from Mr Rance was 'not found to constitute a protected disclosure', and denied any penalisation.
Giving evidence, Ms Daly said she knew nothing of Mr Rance's original email until June 2024, after his WRC complaint was filed, and 'denied gross mismanagement', the WRC said.
Flute lessons were 'not popular' following the Covid-19 pandemic, she said, referring to the sharing of instruments.
Ms Daly said she was 'flabbergasted' by his allegations, denied the School of Music was 'stagnant' and said it was 're-energising through promotional videos and external public relations'.
Enda McWeeney, CETB's finance director, carried out a review of Mr Rance's correspondence, but ultimately said that the material put in front of him was 'a bare allegation, and not a protected disclosure'.
He said there had been five teachers 'underutilised' at the School of Music, according to attendance records, but that he did not think a financial audit was necessary.
In her decision, adjudication officer Patsy Doyle wrote: 'What occurred in this case amounted to a matter of interpersonal grievance exclusively affecting the complainant and his line manager.
'The complainant had a different opinion in how the school was progressing and somehow could not find a platform to express these views through individual or collect[ive] grievances.
'I find I cannot elevate these grievances to what the law requires in a protected disclosure,' Ms Doyle said, dismissing the penalisation complaint.
Cork Education and Training Board was represented by Shane Crossan of O'Flynn Exhams Solicitors before the WRC.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
16 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Bogus RTE worker loses claim for six years of retrospective and holiday pay
A former bogus self-employed worker at RTÉ has lost his claim to retrospective pay and holiday entitlements from the broadcaster as a result of the misclassification of his employment status for over six years. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) ruled that it did not have the jurisdiction to hear complaints made by RTÉ employee, Joseph Kelly, in relation to his former employment status because they had been submitted outside the statutory timeframe. Mr Kelly claimed he was originally required by RTÉ to register as a contractor with Revenue when he started working with the national broadcaster in September 2012. He claimed he lost out on entitlements to annual leave, sick leave, public holidays and incremental salary increases as a consequence of having to become self-employed. Represented by a lay advisor, Martin McMahon, Mr Kelly sought to have his loss of earnings for a period of just over six years corrected and the necessary adjustments to his current salary scale. Eight separate claims, which were lodged with the WRC on October 9, 2024, were brought under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994. However, solicitor for RTÉ, Séamus Given of Arthur Cox LLP, submitted that the cognisable period given the six-month statutory limitation of the legislation governing claims to the WRC was from April 10, 2024. Mr Given argued that Mr Kelly had been properly paid and given all his public holiday and annual leave entitlements over the relevant period. He also claimed that the WRC had no jurisdiction to hear or extend the time limit for submitting a complaint beyond a 12-month period. The WRC heard that Mr Kelly was hired as an independent contractor in September 2012 and paid €200 per day as a media content coordinator before being made an employee of RTÉ on November 12, 2018. He currently works as a news coordinator placed on point 12 of a 14-point salary scale which ranges from €37,567 to €59,862. Mr McMahon pointed out that the matter of bogus self-employment among workers at RTÉ was the subject of a review by an independent law firm as well as a review by the Department of Social Protection. He told the WRC that Mr Kelly was unaware of these reviews, which resulted in RTÉ having to make a payment of approximately €30,000 to the Department of Social Protection to regularise his PRSI contributions. Mr McMahon said it had also led to Mr Kelly losing out on any entitlements to pay for working Sundays and public holidays as well as annual and sick leave and any other entitlement that permanent employees had. He claimed Mr Kelly was continuing to lose out due to the consequences of his initial employment misclassification. Mr McMahon said the complainant had made numerous efforts to resolve these matters without success. He argued that Mr Kelly was seeking to have his entitlements rectified and regularised so that he did not suffer any loss for the error which RTÉ accepted it had made. In his ruling, Mr Harraghy noted that Mr Kelly had provided extensive documentation in relation to the context and background of his claim and his attempts to seek a resolution with his employer. Lansdowne House, the offices of the Workplace Relations Commission in Ballsbridge, Dublin (Image: Colin Keegan, Collins Agency, Dublin) The WRC adjudicator said it was clear that Mr Kelly and Mr McMahon had committed a considerable amount of time and research on the issue. He observed that all the issues that were the subject of his complaints related to the period covering his employment status up to November 2018, when he was not afforded any of the rights that an employee would have accrued. However, Mr Harraghy said his role was to apply the law to the facts but he could only consider complaints submitted within the statutory timeframe provided for by the relevant legislation. He observed that WRC adjudication officers were not empowered to modify timeframes or accept complaints which fell outside timeframes outlined by law. For that reason, Mr Harraghy said he had no jurisdiction to consider the complaints made by Mr Kelly. During a two-day hearing which took place in December 2024 and June 2025, RTÉ was accused of engaging in 'sharp practice' and attempting to 'run down the clock' on a commitment to compensate those who had lost money as a result of bogus self-employment. Mr Kelly said that when he joined the station in 2012, the HR section told him he had to become a sole trader, which also meant he was not allowed to apply for internal jobs at RTÉ. A senior HR manager at RTÉ, Angela McEvoy, said the station had accepted a decision by the Department of Social Protection in relation to Mr Kelly's PRSI insurability. However, Ms McEvoy rejected the suggestion by Mr McMahon that RTÉ had got Mr Kelly to misrepresent himself to Revenue. Mr McMahon told the WRC that it was 'not acceptable' for RTÉ to promise to follow the recommendations of an expert report in relation to bogus self-employed workers and now claim Mr Kelly's case was 'out of time'. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
Irish Examiner
17 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Former 'bogus self-employed' RTÉ worker loses claim to retrospective pay at WRC
A former 'bogus self-employed' worker at RTÉ has lost his claim to retrospective pay and holiday entitlements as a result of the misclassification of his employment status for over six years. The WRC ruled that it did not have the jurisdiction to hear complaints made by RTÉ employee, Joseph Kelly, in relation to his former employment status because they had been submitted outside the statutory timeframe. Mr Kelly claimed he was originally required by RTÉ to register as a contractor with Revenue when he began working with the broadcaster in September 2012. He claimed he lost out on entitlements to annual leave, sick leave, public holidays, and incremental salary increases as a result of having to become self-employed. Represented by a lay advisor, Martin McMahon, Mr Kelly sought to have his loss of earnings for a period of over six years corrected and the necessary adjustments to his current salary scale. Eight separate claims, which were lodged with the WRC on October 9, 2024, were brought under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994. However, solicitor for RTÉ, Séamus Given of Arthur Cox LLP, submitted that the cognisable period given the six-month statutory limitation of the legislation governing claims to the WRC was from April 10, 2024. Mr Given argued that Mr Kelly had been properly paid and given all his public holiday and annual leave entitlements over the relevant period. He also claimed that the WRC had no jurisdiction to hear or extend the time limit for submitting a complaint beyond a 12-month period. The WRC heard that Mr Kelly was hired as an independent contractor in September 2012 and paid €200 per day as a media content coordinator before being made an employee of RTÉ on November 12, 2018. He currently works as a news co-ordinator placed on point 12 of a 14-point salary scale which ranges from €37,567 to €59,862. Mr McMahon pointed out that bogus self-employment among workers at RTÉ was the subject of a review by an independent law firm as well as the Department of Social Protection. He told the WRC Mr Kelly was unaware of these reviews which resulted in RTÉ having to make a payment of approximately €30,000 to the department to regularise his PRSI contributions. Mr McMahon said it also led to Mr Kelly losing out on any entitlements to pay for working Sundays and public holidays as well as annual and sick leave and any other entitlement that permanent employees had. Mr McMahon claimed Mr Kelly was continuing to lose out due to the consequences of his initial employment misclassification and had made numerous efforts to resolve these matters without success. He argued that Mr Kelly was seeking to have his entitlements rectified and regularised so that he did not suffer any loss for the error which RTÉ accepted it had made. In his ruling, WRC adjudicator John Harraghy noted that Mr Kelly had provided extensive documentation in relation to the context and background of his claim and his attempts to seek a resolution with his employer. The WRC adjudicator said it was clear that Mr Kelly and Mr McMahon had committed a considerable amount of time and research on the issue. He observed that all the issues that were the subject of his complaints related to the period covering his employment status up to November 2018 when he was not afforded any of the rights that an employee would have accrued. However, he said his role was to apply the law to the facts but he could only consider complaints submitted within the statutory timeframe provided for by the relevant legislation. He said WRC adjudication officers were not empowered to modify timeframes or accept complaints which fell outside timeframes outlined by law. For that reason, Mr Harraghy said he had no jurisdiction to consider the complaints made by Mr Kelly. During a two-day hearing which took place in December 2024 and June 2025, RTÉ was accused of engaging in 'sharp practice' and attempting to 'run down the clock' on a commitment to compensate those who had lost money as a result of bogus self-employment. Mr Kelly said that when he joined the station in 2012 that the HR section told him he had to become a sole trader which also meant he was not allowed to apply for internal jobs at RTÉ. A senior HR manager at RTÉ, Angela McEvoy, said the station had accepted a decision by the Department of Social Protection in relation to Mr Kelly's PRSI insurability. However, Ms McEvoy rejected the suggestion by Mr McMahon that RTÉ had got Mr Kelly to misrepresent himself to Revenue. Mr McMahon told the WRC that it was 'not acceptable' for RTÉ to promise to follow the recommendations of an expert report in relation to bogus self-employed workers and now claim Mr Kelly's case was 'out of time.'
RTÉ News
21 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Former bogus self-employed RTÉ worker loses WRC case
A former bogus self-employed worker at RTÉ has lost his claim to retrospective pay and holiday entitlements from the broadcaster as a result of the misclassification of his employment status for over six years. The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that it did not have the jurisdiction to hear complaints made by RTÉ employee Joseph Kelly in relation to his former employment status because they had been submitted outside the statutory timeframe. Mr Kelly claimed he was originally required by RTÉ to register as a contractor with Revenue when he started working with the national broadcaster in September 2012. He claimed he lost out on entitlements to annual leave, sick leave, public holidays and incremental salary increases as a consequence of having to become self-employed. Represented by a lay advisor, Martin McMahon, Mr Kelly sought to have his loss of earnings for a period of just over six years corrected and the necessary adjustments to his current salary scale. Eight separate claims, which were lodged with the WRC on 9 October 2024, were brought under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994. However, solicitor for RTÉ Séamus Given of Arthur Cox LLP, submitted that the cognisable period given the six-month statutory limitation of the legislation governing claims to the WRC was from April 10, 2024. Mr Given argued that Mr Kelly had been properly paid and given all his public holiday and annual leave entitlements over the relevant period. He also claimed that the WRC had no jurisdiction to hear or extend the time limit for submitting a complaint beyond a 12-month period. The WRC heard that Mr Kelly was hired as an independent contractor in September 2012 and paid €200 per day as a media content coordinator before being made an employee of RTÉ on 12 November 2018. He currently works as a news coordinator placed on point 12 of a 14-point salary scale which ranges from €37,567 to €59,862. Mr McMahon pointed out that the matter of bogus self-employment among workers at RTÉ was the subject of a review by an independent law firm as well as a review by the Department of Social Protection. He told the WRC that Mr Kelly was unaware of these reviews which resulted in RTÉ having to make a payment of approximately €30,000 to the Department of Social Protection to regularise his PRSI contributions. Mr McMahon said it had also led to Mr Kelly losing out on any entitlements to pay for working Sundays and public holidays as well as annual and sick leave and any other entitlement that permanent employees had. He claimed Mr Kelly was continuing to lose out due to the consequences of his initial employment misclassification. Mr McMahon said the complainant had made numerous efforts to resolve these matters without success. He argued that Mr Kelly was seeking to have his entitlements rectified and regularised so that he did not suffer any loss for the error which RTÉ accepted it had made. In his ruling, Mr Harraghy noted that Mr Kelly had provided extensive documentation in relation to the context and background of his claim and his attempts to seek a resolution with his employer. The WRC adjudicator said it was clear that Mr Kelly and Mr McMahon had committed a considerable amount of time and research on the issue. He observed that all the issues that were the subject of his complaints related to the period covering his employment status up to November 2018 when he was not afforded any of the rights that an employee would have accrued. However, Mr Harraghy said his role was to apply the law to the facts but he could only consider complaints submitted within the statutory timeframe provided for by the relevant legislation. He observed that WRC adjudication officers were not empowered to modify timeframes or accept complaints which fell outside timeframes outlined by law. For that reason, Mr Harraghy said he had no jurisdiction to consider the complaints made by Mr Kelly. During a two-day hearing which took place in December 2024 and June 2025, RTÉ was accused of engaging in "sharp practice" and attempting to "run down the clock" on a commitment to compensate those who had lost money as a result of bogus self-employment. Mr Kelly said that when he joined RTÉ in 2012 that the HR section told him he had to become a sole trader which also meant he was not allowed to apply for internal jobs at RTÉ. A senior HR manager at RTÉ, Angela McEvoy, said RTÉ had accepted a decision by the Department of Social Protection in relation to Mr Kelly's PRSI insurability. However, Ms McEvoy rejected the suggestion by Mr McMahon that RTÉ had got Mr Kelly to misrepresent himself to Revenue. Mr McMahon told the WRC that it was "not acceptable" for RTÉ to promise to follow the recommendations of an expert report in relation to bogus self-employed workers and now claim Mr Kelly's case was "out of time."
