The Labour Court upheld Dr Masud Awan’s complaint against University College Hospital Galway over its renewal of his fixed-term contracts, while varying the remedy. In a determination dated 5 February 2007, it directed the hospital to re-engage him in his former Galway post from 1 May 2007, without loss of prior service, and found him entitled to compensation, with the amount left for negotiation or a further order.
Awan, a consultant anaesthetist, worked on successive fixed-term contracts from January 1999 to June 2004. The hospital argued that statutory appointment rules justified the renewals and challenged the Rights Commissioner’s reinstatement direction. Awan said his contract had become one of indefinite duration by law. The Court found the rules did not justify another fixed-term renewal, so his contract became one of indefinite duration. It affirmed the finding on his complaint but changed the remedy from reinstatement without loss of pay to re-engagement in his former post.