The Workplace Relations Commission awarded stagehand Thomas Arkins Jnr €25,000 after finding that Metropolitan Films International Limited penalised him by dismissing him when he sought permanent employment. The decision was dated 15 December 2023. The WRC also directed the company to pay a separate €5,000 for other breaches of fixed-term work rules.
Arkins worked on film and television productions, with breaks between projects. He said he had not been called back after a lay-off and believed his union membership was the reason. The company argued he had worked for separate production companies and that his complaint was late. The WRC found that Metropolitan Films International Limited was his employer and that he was laid off until 1 December 2019, when he was effectively dismissed. It also found that his complaint was within the statutory time limit.
The officer found Arkins had acquired a contract of indefinite duration through his service on fixed-term contracts. The dismissal breached a rule against penalising workers for seeking their rights under the fixed-term work law. The separate €5,000 award concerned the company’s failure to provide objective reasons for the contracts and a written statement of those reasons. A contract of indefinite duration has no fixed end date.