The Labour Court allowed appeals by four Athlone Institute of Technology assistant lecturers, including Michael McGrath, finding their contracts were of indefinite duration from January 2008. The determination was signed on 17 June 2011 and set aside the Rights Commissioner’s decision.
The lecturers argued their 2008 contracts were not fixed-term contracts or, alternatively, that there were no objective grounds to extend them beyond four years. The Institute said the contracts depended on the continuation of apprenticeship courses threatened by falling enrolments.
The Court found the contracts meant employment would continue for as long as the Institute required the lecturers’ services. The possible closure of both courses was not seriously regarded as likely when the contracts were made. Alternatively, there were no objective grounds to extend fixed-term employment beyond four years, so the contracts became indefinite by law and the complaints were declared well-founded on that basis.
It also found a technical breach because written grounds were provided after the renewals, but said this had no material consequences. The Court had no jurisdiction over additional complaints under sections 10 and 13 that had not been brought before the Rights Commissioner. It did not decide whether the Institute could make the lecturers redundant, and awarded no compensation.