The High Court has refused an application by an assistant lecturer at Athlone Institute of Technology to stop the planned termination of his employment on 20 June 2011. Mr Justice Hogan delivered the judgment on 14 June 2011, declining the interlocutory injunction sought by Michael McGrath.
The Institute said economic conditions had removed demand for its bricklaying course and that it proposed to make McGrath redundant. The judgment said there was no suggestion that he was an unsatisfactory or incompetent employee, or that disciplinary issues were involved. It also noted the likely financial impact on him and the difficulty he might face finding other work.
McGrath argued that a series of fixed-term contracts had made him entitled under the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 to a contract of indefinite duration. He also alleged that Institute representatives had promised him a permanent contract if he and apprentices carried out construction projects on campus. The Institute disputed that promise and said the building work formed part of practical training.
The statutory claim was before the Labour Court, which had heard the appeal and had yet to issue its ruling. Justice Hogan stressed that his judgment expressed no view on the merits of that claim. He considered whether the High Court could grant interim relief to protect the practical benefit of a possible Labour Court decision, given that the Labour Court could not grant interim or interlocutory relief. He concluded that the High Court could have jurisdiction to do so in exceptional circumstances.
But the judge held that the circumstances did not justify an injunction. Even if McGrath were found to be a permanent employee, the judgment said, employment could still be terminated on reasonable notice unless the contract expressly provided otherwise. The judge found no issue had been raised about the adequacy of notice and said the 2003 Act did not prevent termination for redundancy in these circumstances.
Justice Hogan therefore refused the injunction. He said any claim that a dismissal was unfair would fall to be dealt with under the Unfair Dismissals Acts through the Employment Appeals Tribunal, not in this High Court application. The ruling did not decide whether McGrath was entitled to a contract of indefinite duration.