The Workplace Relations Commission found Andrew McCarthy’s complaint that he was treated less favourably as a fixed-term employee was not well founded. The decision was dated 14 September 2022.
McCarthy worked full time as a worker member of the Labour Court under two successive fixed-term contracts, which ran from March 2014 to April 2020. He argued that he should have received a contract of indefinite duration and that ending his employment at the end of his second term amounted to less favourable treatment.
The Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment said fixed-term appointments allowed the Labour Court to renew its membership and maintain a range of experience. It also said appointments depended on nominations by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
The adjudication officer accepted that periodic replacement helped the Labour Court remain agile and relevant, and that this justified using fixed-term contracts for its members. She also found McCarthy had provided no evidence that he was treated less favourably than a comparable permanent employee. Under the law, that comparison is central to a fixed-term worker’s claim of less favourable treatment. The complaint was therefore not well founded.