The Labour Court rejected Con Ryan’s appeal and found his fixed-term work complaint not well founded. The determination was signed on 6 February 2012. Ryan had challenged a Rights Commissioner’s finding that he was not an employee under the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act, 2003.
Ryan said permanent employees doing interview-panel work received better pay, holiday entitlements and compensation for training days. The Public Appointments Service argued there was no employment relationship and the employees were not comparable. The Court found panel work was only a small part of the permanent employees’ wider management roles, and their jobs as a whole were neither the same as Ryan’s nor interchangeable with his. It therefore found the complaint not well founded, without deciding the other legal issues raised.