The WRC, explained for the person making the complaint

The process, in order

1. 1

   The complaint form

   The WRC's own online form, no fee. You tick the Act the complaint is under and give the dates. The 6-month limit runs from the contravention.

2. 2

   Acknowledgement and the employer's reply

   The WRC sends your complaint to the employer, who replies in writing. Both sides may be offered mediation.

3. 3

   Mediation, if both agree

   Free, voluntary and confidential. A mediated agreement is binding and is not published.

4. 4

   The hearing

   An adjudication officer hears both sides, usually in public since 2021. The median wait to a first hearing was 174 days by December 2025. You can represent yourself, bring a union official, a solicitor, a family member or a colleague. Many complainants represent themselves; the adjudicator will explain the process.

5. 5

   The decision

   In writing, published on the WRC's site. The WRC does not award legal costs to either side, whatever the outcome. If you bring a solicitor, you pay them; a union represents members at no charge.

6. 6

   Appeal

   Either side can appeal to the Labour Court within 42 days. A €300 fee applies only where the appellant failed to attend the WRC hearing without good cause; otherwise an appeal is free.

7. 7

   Enforcement

   A WRC decision that is not complied with is enforced through the District Court, which can order compliance and, for compensation, make it a judgment debt.

Since the Supreme Court's decision in Zalewski (2021) WRC hearings are generally held in public and decisions published with the parties' names, with anonymisation where special circumstances apply; some categories remain anonymised. Verify current practice against the WRC's procedures guide.

What the WRC is not

• Not a court: it is an adjudication service, and its decisions are enforced through the District Court.
• Not a place for a bullying claim on its own: bullying goes through the employer’s procedure under the Code, an industrial-relations dispute, the courts, or constructive dismissal.
• Not a route for breach-of-contract damages beyond the Acts: wrongful dismissal is a civil claim.
• Not a source of legal costs: whoever you bring, you pay; a union represents members for free.
• Not somewhere that decides quickly: the wait for a hearing was 174 days by the end of 2025.

The WRC guides

1. A WRC hearing: what happens before, on the day and afterWhat a WRC adjudication hearing looks like in 2026: the submissions and documents before it, the public hearing, evidence on oath and cross-examination, and the written decision afterwards.
2. Appealing a WRC decision to the Labour Court: the 42 days and the re-hearingEither side can appeal a WRC decision to the Labour Court within 42 days, free unless you missed the WRC hearing without good cause. What a full re-hearing means, and why the EAT no longer exists.
3. Do you need a solicitor at the WRC?The WRC awards no costs, many people represent themselves and a union represents members free. When an employment solicitor earns the fee, what one costs, and why legal aid does not cover the WRC.
4. How to make a WRC complaint in Ireland: the form, the six months and what happens nextHow to make a WRC complaint in Ireland: the online form step by step, which Act to tick, the six-month time limit, what happens after you submit, the Infoline, and the PDF route if the form fails.
5. WRC decisions: how to read one and what they are worthHow to read a WRC decision, where the published database is, and what awards look like under each Act: loss-based for unfair dismissal, up to two years' pay for discrimination, the arrears for wages.
6. WRC mediation: how it works, what an agreement is worth, and when to say noWRC mediation is free, voluntary and confidential. How it is offered, what happens in the session, why a mediated agreement is binding but never published, and when adjudication is the better route.
7. WRC time limit: the six months, reasonable cause and the twelve-month barYou have six months from the contravention to lodge a WRC complaint, twelve with reasonable cause and never longer. When the clock starts for dismissal, pay, equality and leave complaints.