WRC had no jurisdiction over Nigel Murphy’s unfair dismissal complaint against World 2000

The Workplace Relations Commission had no jurisdiction to hear Nigel Murphy’s unfair dismissal complaint against World 2000 Entertainment Limited because the company was not his employer. The decision was dated 20 February 2024. Murphy, a carpenter on film and television productions, said he was not offered work when a new production began in December 2019 and believed this was because of his membership in the Irish Film Workers’ Association. World 2000 argued that he had worked for a separate production company and that the complaint was outside the time limit. The adjudication officer found that Murphy had reasonably believed World 2000 was his employer, but concluded that he was employed by Metropolitan Films International Limited and its subsidiaries. She also found that his complaint was within the time limit. Because it named the wrong employer, the officer could not examine whether the dismissal was unfair; the merits were not decided.