{"id":355969,"date":"2026-03-20T10:54:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T10:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/355969\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T10:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T10:54:11","slug":"unions-deeply-concerned-over-aer-lingus-disciplinary-procedures-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/355969\/","title":{"rendered":"Unions \u2018deeply concerned\u2019 over Aer Lingus disciplinary procedures \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unions have clashed with Aer Lingus<\/a> over disciplinary investigation procedures at the airline that they say disadvantage workers and are legally flawed.<\/p>\n

Aer Lingus, in some circumstances, removes names and other details from documents used in disciplinary proceedings, investigations and meetings with witnesses.<\/p>\n

This practice disadvantages workers facing such proceedings by obscuring important information from them, making it harder for them to prove their side of the case, according to trade union F\u00f3rsa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is \u201cprejudicial\u201d to members, F\u00f3rsa assistant secretary general Lisa Connell warns the company in a letter written this month.<\/p>\n

F\u00f3rsa, which represents cabin crew<\/a>, and to which the pilots\u2019 union, the Irish Airline Pilots\u2019 Association, is affiliated, told members that it was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d about the practices.<\/p>\n

They include management removing names or details from documents, so someone involved in disciplinary proceedings cannot access all material, correspondence and evidence that the company is considering.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might be shown \u2018evidence\u2019 during a meeting, but be unable to see where it came from or who wrote it, making it much harder to prove your side of the story,\u201d warns a union newsletter.<\/p>\n

Both that and Connell\u2019s letter to management highlight that HR \u201cactively encroaches\u201d on independent officers investigating cases under the guise of giving them support.<\/p>\n

Statements made at witness meetings can also be converted into formal accusations against workers, without the witness\u2019s consent or knowledge, both documents say.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a total breach of fair procedure and an unethical action, and it is fundamentally flawed,\u201d Connell\u2019s letter argues.<\/p>\n

Staff should only face allegations of misconduct from an accuser whose statements can be cross-examined, she adds.<\/p>\n

F\u00f3rsa also argues that the airline<\/a>\u2019s procedures allow management to add allegations at the end of an investigation, without putting these to the individual involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only is this procedurally incorrect, but, as a matter of law, it is incorrect and an unacceptable practice, which again puts our members at a serious disadvantage in meetings,\u201d Connell states.<\/p>\n

Witnesses at a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) hearing involving a former Aer Lingus worker gave details of the practices, sparking the union\u2019s concern.<\/p>\n

F\u00f3rsa is demanding a meeting with airline management with an \u201cabsolute expectation\u201d that this will put a stop to such practices, says Connell.<\/p>\n

Aer Lingus did not comment as the WRC case is still under way. The union is not involved in the case.<\/p>\n

The airline has rejected several of F\u00f3rsa\u2019s claims as incorrect and told the union that its disciplinary and other procedures, and its HR processes, all comply with employment law, it is understood.<\/p>\n

\"\"The difficult choices that could dramatically increase housing supply in Dublin<\/p>\n

Aer Lingus operating crew managers investigate claims against staff and are meant to be independent.<\/p>\n

The airline\u2019s HR department briefs these managers on their remit, insiders say.<\/p>\n

F\u00f3rsa included a copy of Connell\u2019s letter to Aer Lingus management in the newsletter, setting out the union\u2019s concerns at the disciplinary practices.<\/p>\n

The organisation is warning members in the airline not to attend formal hearings of any kind without union representation.<\/p>\n

It also advises anyone attending witness meetings to clearly state that they \u201cdo not consent\u201d to their statements being used for any other purpose than that of a witness meeting. <\/p>\n

Nor should they consent to their statements \u201cbeing converted into an accusation being made against a colleague\u201d, the union cautions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unions have clashed with Aer Lingus over disciplinary investigation procedures at the airline that they say disadvantage workers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[601,72,1555,61,60,6465],"class_list":["post-355969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-aer-lingus","tag-business","tag-forsa","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-workplace-relations-commission"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}