A complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission is public, adversarial, binary and slow. By the time one is lodged, the working relationship it grew out of has usually not survived — and the window in which it could have been repaired closed some time before anyone noticed.
What a Complaint Does to a Dispute
Before anything is lodged, a situation is still describable as a working relationship that has gone wrong, and both people can change how they are behaving without either having to abandon a stated version of events. Once a complaint exists, that changes structurally: positions get written down, evidence gets assembled, colleagues get asked what they saw, and each side becomes invested in a narrative it now has to sustain. None of that is bad faith — it is what a formal process requires. But it hardens things considerably, which is why mediation after a complaint tends to be about arrangements and closure rather than genuine repair. Meanwhile the relationship keeps deteriorating throughout, because people continue working alongside each other with a claim running in the background, and everyone in the organisation knows. Note also that the WRC operates its own mediation service for complaints referred to it, offered where the Commission considers it suitable and the parties agree — a genuinely useful facility, and distinct from private mediation, which requires no complaint to exist and can happen at the point the relationship is still repairable.
After a Complaint — and the Two Absolute Cautions
Private mediation remains worth doing once a complaint is lodged, often for reasons wider than the complaint: it can address how these two people actually work together if the employment continues, the reporting and communication arrangements going forward, and the matters outside the scope of a specific statutory complaint that are nevertheless why everyone is here. A resolution can be documented to dispose of the complaint where that is what the parties want. But two things override everything. Statutory time limits run independently. They are not extended by mediation, by a paused grievance, or by any internal process, and the periods for referring employment complaints are short. Check the dates before anything else, and where a limit is approaching, the right advice is often to protect the position first and mediate afterwards — the two are entirely compatible. An employee who mediates in good faith for four months and then finds a complaint out of time has been badly served, and it is completely avoidable. And withdrawing a complaint or waiving claims is a settlement, not a mediation term. It requires each side properly advised, genuine independent advice for the employee before signing, and careful drafting about what is being given up — it is not a clause added at the end of a long day. That belongs with settlementagreementsolicitor.ie. The full page is here.
For employers reading this as a prevention question: the practical lesson is not that mediation beats the WRC. It is that the moment worth acting on is months earlier — when someone has raised something informally and nothing has changed. That window is usually only a few weeks wide, and it is the most valuable one there is.
A complaint lodged or coming? The dates get checked first: 01 5827148.
Richard O’Shea — Solicitor & Mediator
Solicitor at Mary Molloy Solicitors (established 1981) and holder of the Law Society of Ireland Diploma in Mediation. The firm also runs a substantial employment practice, which is why the honest sorting question — whether a situation needs a mediation or an investigation — gets answered at the first call rather than halfway through. Workplace mediations are conducted on site, at neutral venues, at The Ormond Building on Ormond Quay, at the Kilkenny office — or fully online. The mediator is appointed by both sides and acts for neither. 01 5827148 · richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · LinkedIn
General information, not legal advice. This website contains general information about workplace mediation and Irish law. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor—client relationship. Every workplace situation turns on its own facts, and advice on yours requires a consultation.
The mediator is not your legal adviser. Where Mary Molloy Solicitors is appointed as mediator, the mediator is neutral: the mediator acts for no party, advises no party, makes no findings and decides nothing. This is so regardless of which party is paying the fee. All participants are encouraged to take independent legal advice, and in particular to take advice before signing any agreement reached in mediation. Employees may wish to seek advice from their own solicitor or trade union. The firm does not act as mediator in any matter in which it acts, or has acted, for a party — conflicts are checked before any appointment is accepted.
Mediation is not a substitute for a required process. Some matters must be investigated rather than mediated, including allegations of serious misconduct, matters engaging health and safety duties, and protected disclosures. Nothing on this site suggests that mediation should displace an employer’s statutory obligations, a grievance or disciplinary procedure where one is required, or a complainant’s entitlement to have a complaint formally investigated or to bring proceedings.
Fees. Fees for mediation are agreed in writing before the mediation begins, and fees for legal services are agreed in writing with the client at the outset. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.
Tax. Nothing on this website is tax advice. Where any payment or arrangement has tax consequences, those questions belong with your accountant or tax adviser and with Revenue’s own guidance, and are best addressed before anything is signed.