Claim by CAB staff over refusal to pay 'dangerous work' allowances is dismissed

Claims brought by five staff members of the Criminal Asset Bureau over the State's refusal to pay them the same financial allowance as other non-garda officers for carrying out certain dangerous work have been dismissed by the High Court.

Mr Justice Senan Allen said the five who work as forensic accountants and financial crime analysists had not made out a case in law, and the court "must dismiss the action."

He said when working for CAB the five, when realising that they were required to carry out duties other than those set out in their job description, were entitled to make a pay claim to the Department of Finance.

This is what they did, the judge said, and the claim was not as successful as they had hoped and expected.

The Judge said the five were entitled to take the decision in respect of their pay claim to conciliation and arbitration but did not do so.

The High Court, he added has "no function in adjudicating on pay claims."

In their action, the five claimed allowances of €19,000 per year over their salary are paid to CAB officers who have been seconded from Revenue, the Department of Social Protection, and Customs and Excise.

That allowance, they claimed, is to mark the nature of the work, including fieldwork, conducted by CAB.

The five, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, have worked for CAB for many years.

They claimed they routinely carry out their duties, often during anti-social hours, for CAB including attending search operations, preparing court documents, attending interviews with dangerous criminals, and giving evidence at court cases on behalf of CAB.

They claimed these duties are no different from those done by other civil servants working for CAB, and argued they should also be paid the €19,000 a year allowance.

In 2008 they made a claim to their Minister for Justice in respect of the allowance.

However, the Minister informed them that the Department of Finance was not persuaded by their arguments. However, an allowance of €9,500 per year to the five was sanctioned.

In proceedings against the Minister the five claimed they were discriminated against in respect of the allowance.

They sought orders directing the Minister to pay them the allowance paid to the other non-Garda CAB officers plus arrears.

They also sought declarations including that they are entitled to be paid the same allowance currently paid to CAB officers seconded from Revenue, Customs and the Dept of Social Protection.

The Minister denied the claims, said the five were not entitled to the payment of the allowance and that they are paid in accordance with the terms and conditions of their appointments.

In 2011 the five had received an increased allowance of €9,500 per year, which they never formally accepted, which is the rate payable to the those from the Chief State Solicitor's office working for CAB, the State further argued.

In his decision, Mr Justice Allen said there was no custom or practice that the Bureau's staff would be paid the same allowance as the non-garda bureau officers

The terms of the five's remuneration, having been clear, the Judge said there was no conceivable basis for their arguments that the express terms of their contracts concerning pay were other than they were.

There is no general right in law to equal pay for equal work, and it makes no difference whether the pay is designated as salary or an allowance or a combination of both, the judge held.

The five he said were not comparable to the non-garda bureau of CAB.

In their evidence to the court, the Judge said the five had focused on their outdoor work, but it was clear that the great majority of their times was spent on indoor work.