The Workplace Relations Commission found Gerard Corbally’s complaint well founded and ordered Metropolitan Films International Limited to pay him €25,000 compensation for penalisation after he sought permanent employment. It also awarded him €5,000 for breaches involving successive fixed-term contracts and written terms.
The decision was dated 15 December 2023. Corbally, a stagehand, said he had worked on productions for the company and associated entities for years, with breaks between productions treated as layoffs. He argued that he was not called back after seeking recognition of his service and rights to permanent employment. The company argued that he worked for separate production companies and that his complaint was out of time.
The adjudication officer found that the production companies were part of Metropolitan Films’ group and that Corbally’s employment continued during the layoffs. She found that he had acquired a contract of indefinite duration and was penalised when he was not called back. The company had no legitimate objective for using successive specified-purpose contracts and had not provided the required written reasons.