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Appeals Procedure

The Appeals Procedure provides a domestic and independent forum, i.e. an Arbitration Board, for dealing with an appeal in a fair and reasonable manner. It is not intended that there would be legal representation. The Arbitration Board will adjudicate on the appeal and decide if proper procedures were fulfilled. The Arbitration Board will not make a judgement as to which candidate was most suitable and it is not intended that the Arbitration Board will replace the selection board.

Initially, a teacher who is considering appealing has an entitlement to write to the board of management stating his/her grounds for the Appeal and to receive a written response from the chairperson of the board of management in respect of the points raised. It is intended that this initial response from the board of management will clarify many points for the teacher and may obviate the need to proceed to an appeal hearing.

In addition, it is generally the case, that where a school has a number of posts to fill and only one of the posts is appealed, the appeal will not affect the other posts which are not the subject of an appeal.

Initiating the Process of Appeal

In the event of an unsuccessful applicant wishing to proceed with an appeal, the teacher shall in the first instance and within the time specified, write to the chairperson of the board of management stating that the proposed appointment is being appealed. This letter must also state the grounds of appeal and will be regarded as the letter of appeal.

In general, though not exclusively, the grounds for appeal fall into the following categories:

alleged breach of procedure;
alleged inconsistency and lack of fairness in the application of the criteria for selection to the post;
alleged lack of proper consultation and agreement in relation to the allocation of duties for the vacant post.

Having received the letter of appeal, the chairperson of the board of management shall respond in writing to the appellant within 10 school days of the date of the letter of appeal. In the interests of resolving the matter at the earliest possible stage, the response of the chairperson should adequately address the points made by the appellant.

On receipt by the appellant of the response of the chairperson of the board of management, s/he shall decide whether to continue with the appeal. Should the teacher decide to proceed with the appeal, s/he shall inform the chairperson of the board of management accordingly, in writing, within 5 school days of the date of the chairperson's response.

The candidate to whom the post of responsibility has been provisionally assigned shall be informed by the chairperson of the board of management that an appeal has been lodged.

A candidate who believes s/he has been discriminated against contrary to the Employment Equality Act may process a claim in accordance with the provisions of the legislation.

Hearing the appeal

Following completion of the stages outlined above in Section 18 of Circular 07/03, and where the chairperson of the board of management has been notified in writing by the teacher that s/he wishes to proceed, the board of management of the school should, within 5 school days, contact the patron's representative and the INTO Central Executive Committee Representative for the district, in order to appoint by agreement, from the appropriate Regional Panel, a Board of Arbitration to hear the appeal.

The Board of Arbitration shall be selected from the Regional Panel and shall have 3 persons as follows:

a representative of management, on behalf of the patron;
a representative of the INTO;
an agreed independent chairperson.

Once the chairperson of the Arbitration Board has been appointed, the chairperson of the board of management shall furnish him/her, within five school days, with three copies of the details of the appointment and all relevant documentation, including the letter of appeal, the response of the chairperson of the board of management, and on a confidential basis, the marking sheets/records of the selection board. (The Board of Arbitration is empowered to call witnesses where considered necessary).

The Arbitration Board shall arrange a hearing without delay and shall invite the Appellant, the Respondents, i.e. the board of management/or appropriate representatives, and witnesses if any, to attend the hearing. The Arbitration Board shall conduct the hearing and shall ensure that the normal rules of due process and fair procedures apply, which include:

that all relevant documentation (excluding the marking sheets which shall be available to the Arbitration Board only on a confidential basis), including letter of appeal, statement of grounds, response of chairperson of board of management, and any additional submissions shall be copied to all the parties;
that the chairperson of the Arbitration Board will clarify to both parties, ie the Appellant and the respondent, the procedures that s/he intends to adopt at the hearing;
that the parties shall be invited to a hearing and shall be given reasonable notice of the hearing by the Arbitration Board. When notifying parties to the appeal of the date of the hearing(s), it should be indicated to the parties concerned that in the event of failure to appear, without reasonable cause, the Arbitration Board may proceed to decide the case if considered appropriate;
that the appellant shall be entitled to be accompanied and assisted by a person of their choice;
that each party shall be afforded an opportunity to present their case to the Arbitration Board;
that the two parties, i.e. the Appellant and the Respondent, shall have an opportunity to be present in order to hear, at first hand, what each party has to say, together with witnesses where appropriate;
that each party shall be afforded an opportunity to question or respond to the other party through the chairperson of the Arbitration Board;
that the Arbitration Board itself shall be entitled to question each party or seek further information;
that all documentation given by the Appellant to the Arbitration Board to be made available to the board of management;
that where appropriate, the Arbitration Board shall afford each party an opportunity to provide further information on the clear understanding that the other party shall have an opportunity to respond to same;
that if necessary, the Arbitration Board shall agree to adjournments.
The Arbitration Board shall be considered a domestic forum and accordingly, neither management nor the INTO intends that there would be legal representation at any hearings arranged by the Arbitration Board.

Arbitration Board Findings

Having heard all the parties, the Arbitration Board shall withdraw to make its decision. In the event that the appeal is rejected, the decision of the Arbitration Board shall only record that the appeal is rejected. In the event that the appeal is upheld, the decision of the Arbitration Board shall record that the appeal is upheld and taking into account the grounds of appeal, the Arbitration Board shall advise the board of management to recommence the appointment process at either (a) the initial consultation/allocation of duties stage, (b) the advertisement stage or (c) interview stage. No other written record or minutes of the proceedings of the Arbitration Board shall be kept.

The outcome of the appeal shall be notified in writing by the chairperson of the Arbitration Board to the chairperson of the board of management and to the appellant. The chairperson of the board of management shall in turn notify the provisional appointee of the outcome.

The decision of the Arbitration Board shall be final and binding on the parties involved.

If the appeal has been rejected, the board of management confirms the appointment of the original successful candidate and notifies the Department of Education and Skills accordingly at the earliest possible date.

Where an appeal has been upheld and the board of management is required to establish a second selection board, then the chairperson of the board of management, the principal teacher and two independent assessors, neither of whom were involved in the original selection, shall comprise the second selection board. The two independent assessors shall be selected from the agreed panels of assessors. In the event of a tied vote, the chairperson shall have a second or casting vote.

It is not intended by either the Management Authority or INTO that there would be a second appeal by the same teacher arising from the filling of one post. However, the parties accept that in certain exceptional circumstances, where for example, there are significant new grounds of appeal and/or a substantial breach of procedure, such a situation may arise.

Accordingly, if these circumstances arise following the completion of the appointment process for the second time, then the chairperson of the board of management should, in the first instance, forward the second letter of appeal including the grounds of the appeal, together with a statement on the matter from the board of management, to the central office of the Management Authority and the INTO for adjudication on whether a second appeal will be allowed.

Expenses incurred by the Arbitration Board shall be shared between the parties, i.e. Management and INTO.