Labour Court dismisses senior lecturer’s appeal over professor appointment

The Labour Court dismissed an unnamed senior lecturer’s appeal and upheld a recommendation after a university professor appointment competition. The decision was dated 14 March 2014. The lecturer said a panel member had made inappropriate comments, the close interview scores warranted a second interview, and the university had mishandled his grievance. The university said the selection process was fair and that the lecturer had not claimed to be the better candidate. The Court said concerns about possible bias should have been raised before the interviews. It said a second interview would have been advisable given the close result, but found no basis to disagree with the Rights Commissioner’s recommendation for a sabbatical of up to 12 months and a postdoctoral research position on his return.