The High Court has ordered preliminary hearings in four cases brought by lecturers who say they were unfairly denied promotion to senior lecturer posts at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway). The court did not decide whether discrimination occurred or whether the lecturers are entitled to promotion or damages.
The cases arise from promotion competitions in 2008 and 2009. The four lecturers applied for senior lecturer positions and were unsuccessful. They allege that the competition and its criteria, shortlisting, interviews, assessment and feedback were tainted by direct and indirect discrimination on grounds of gender and family status. For the purpose of deciding the university’s application, NUI Galway accepted the facts pleaded by the lecturers; that acceptance was not a finding on the allegations.
The lecturers seek declarations concerning their employment contracts, the Employment Equality Acts, EU law and the Universities Act 1997. They also seek appointment to the posts, with salary and benefits adjusted from 1 July 2009, and damages. The university disputes that the claims can proceed as common law actions and argues that statutory equality claims were brought outside the time limit. Those issues remain undecided.
Mr Justice Binchy directed that preliminary issues be tried, finding that the legal questions could largely be separated from the factual disputes and that resolving them first was likely to save time and costs. The questions include whether the Employment Equality Acts imply a gender equality term in the lecturers’ contracts or provide an independent common law cause of action; whether EU law allows an independent claim in the High Court; and whether the Universities Act gives rise to a cause of action.
The judge also added a question about whether, if a contractual equality right exists, the Acts require redress to be pursued only through the Workplace Relations Commission or Circuit Court, or permit an alternative common law claim. The preliminary hearing will also address whether the claims are time-barred. The judge noted that evidence may be needed to establish when relevant steps in the promotion process occurred, but considered that this could be limited.
The order sets the sequence for determining those questions. It does not itself resolve them, determine whether the claims are time-barred, or direct a full trial of the discrimination allegations. The judgment was delivered on 26 July 2016.