The Workplace Relations Commission rejected Mary Lynch’s complaint against the Department of Education, finding the Department was not established as her employer. Adjudication Officer Dónal Moore dated the decision 28 November 2025.
Lynch argued that the Department’s pay arrangements, superannuation certificate and role in employment policies and contract approvals showed it was her employer or a joint employer. The Department said salary payments under a tripartite arrangement did not establish an employment relationship.
Applying the Supreme Court’s reasoning in Boyle, the officer concluded that funding and superannuation did not make the Department the employer; day-to-day control rested with the school employer. The decision did not determine Lynch’s separate complaint against the school.