The High Court has refused an attempt by Metropolitan Films International Ltd to stop two judicial review cases brought by Paul James Arkins and Jason Arkins over Labour Court decisions on their employment status.
Mr Justice Garrett Simons delivered judgment on 10 November 2025. Both men had complained to the Workplace Relations Commission under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 and the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003.
Each had initially succeeded before an adjudication officer. A central issue was whether workers engaged through a series of separate film production companies could nonetheless have an employment relationship with Metropolitan Films, the producer company behind those entities.
The Labour Court overturned the first-instance outcomes on 11 December 2024, finding there was no evidence of contracts of employment between the applicants and Metropolitan Films.
The brothers then obtained permission in April 2025 to bring judicial review proceedings. Metropolitan Films applied to have that leave set aside. It argued that the men should instead use the statutory right of appeal to the High Court on a point of law and that their judicial review cases were not arguable.
The High Court rejected both arguments.
Mr Justice Simons said the Labour Court had failed to engage meaningfully with the applicants’ arguments about the proper legal meaning of “employee” and “employer” in the wider statutory context. In Jason Arkins’ case, one decision also appeared largely copied from another and quoted the wrong legislation.
Because the Labour Court had not adequately explained its reasoning, the judge found that a statutory appeal was not an effective alternative. He also held that the brothers had arguable grounds based on inadequate reasons, failure to consider relevant matters and possible errors of law.
The judicial review cases will therefore continue to a substantive hearing. The judge’s provisional view was that each applicant should recover the costs of the failed set-aside motions from Metropolitan Films, subject to further submissions.