Metropolitan Films ordered to pay Dean Arkins €7,220 over employment terms

The Workplace Relations Commission found Dean Arkins’ complaint about his employment terms well founded and ordered Metropolitan Films International Limited to pay him €7,220, equivalent to four weeks’ pay. The decision was dated 15 December 2023. Arkins said he had worked on film and television productions for years, with breaks between productions, but was not called back after work ended on “Into the Badlands”. The company argued that separate production companies employed him and that his complaints were out of time. The adjudication officer found Metropolitan Films International Limited was his employer and that his employment ended on 1 December 2019, making the complaints timely. The terms complaint succeeded because the contract gave the wrong employer name and address and an incorrect start date. His wages complaint was found not well founded: wages were not payable during lay-off under the accepted working arrangement. His working-time complaint was withdrawn.