Labour Court varies Brothers of Charity recommendation, proposing €2,000 settlement

In 2002, the Labour Court varied a Rights Commissioner’s recommendation in a dispute involving Brothers Of Charity and a locum assistant house parent. In a decision dated 19 June 2002, it recommended €2,000 in full and final settlement of her claim and said she should have been offered a locum post if one was available. The worker’s specified-purpose contract ended after the employee on career break decided not to return and the organisation chose not to refill the permanent post as its needs changed. The union said her employment ended because of complaints she had made. The Court accepted that the contract had ended naturally, but said management had added responsibility because of her earlier work on its locum panel.