The Labour Court cut compensation for Dr Nicholas Morley to €10,000 from €30,000 on Nui Galway’s appeal, while upholding findings that the university breached fixed-term work protections. The determination was signed on 2 March 2009.
Morley worked for the university on five successive fixed-term contracts from November 2000 until his final contract expired in January 2004. He challenged his treatment over redundancy, his exclusion from the pension scheme, the end of his contract and the lack of written reasons for renewals.
The Court found he had not become entitled to a contract of indefinite duration and was not penalised to prevent that outcome: the post had become permanent, and he had not secured it. But Nui Galway failed to provide the required written reasons for contract renewals and unlawfully excluded him from its pension scheme. The Court found his core teaching work was like that of permanent lecturers and ruled he was entitled to admission to the scheme from 1 July 2001.
The Rights Commissioner had awarded €30,000 after finding breaches of several provisions. The Labour Court agreed with the findings on written reasons and pension access, varied the decision and set compensation at €10,000.