The Labour Court allowed appeals by four assistant lecturers and found their Athlone Institute of Technology contracts were of indefinite duration from January 2008. Its determination was dated 17 June 2011.
Brendan Hannify, Michael McGrath, John Hogan and David Holland argued that their 2008 contracts were not fixed-term contracts or, alternatively, that there were no objective grounds to extend their employment beyond four years. The Institute said the contracts depended on the continuation of apprenticeship courses.
The Court found that course closures were not seriously regarded as likely when the contracts were made, and that a general reference to continuing courses did not justify extending fixed-term employment beyond four years. It found a technical breach because written grounds were provided about three weeks after the renewals, but said this had no material consequences. It set aside the earlier decisions and substituted its own determination. The Court made no compensation award and did not decide whether the lecturers could be made redundant. It declined jurisdiction over additional complaints raised on appeal.