The Workplace Relations Commission found Jason Arkins’ complaint against Metropolitan Films International Limited well founded and directed the company to pay him €25,000 for penalisation through dismissal. In a decision dated 15 December 2023, it also awarded him €5,000 for breaches involving successive specified-purpose contracts.
Arkins worked intermittently as a stagehand for the film group for years. The WRC found he had acquired a contract of indefinite duration after working on successive fixed-term contracts for more than four years. It concluded he was laid off in June 2018 and dismissed when he was not called back in December 2019.
The adjudication officer found the dismissal penalised Arkins after he sought to invoke his right to permanent employment. The decision also found the company lacked legitimate objective grounds for successive specified-purpose contracts and had failed to provide written reasons. The awards are compensation and are not subject to tax, PRSI or USC deductions.