The Labour Court disallowed Mandy O’Neill’s appeal against the dismissal of her fixed-term work claims against Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), finding no contravention of the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003. Its determination was dated 24 September 2012.
O’Neill argued that her employment entitled her to a contract of indefinite duration and that DIT ended her technician role to prevent her gaining that status. DIT said the role covered an employee on career break and ended when that employee resigned, while O’Neill’s laboratory supervisor work was a separate job.
The Court found the technician and laboratory supervisor contracts were separate, concurrent employments, so they did not count as continuous contracts for the Act’s four-year rule. It also found the technician contract was lawful when made and was not renewed, leaving no basis for her penalisation claim. O’Neill accepted that her written-statement complaint was out of time. The Court varied the Rights Commissioner’s decision, which had dismissed her claims after she failed to attend the hearing.