The Labour Court reinstated John Cleary and awarded him €3,000 after finding the National Gallery of Ireland had wrongly kept him on successive fixed-term contracts. The Court varied the Rights Commissioner’s earlier €3,500 award. Its determination was signed on 12 October 2012.
The Gallery appealed the Rights Commissioner’s decision, arguing that refurbishment plans made its need for services attendants temporary. Cleary said he had become entitled to a contract of indefinite duration after the 2005 renewal and that there were no objective grounds for continuing the fixed-term contracts.
The Court found the Gallery had a fixed and permanent need for Cleary’s work. When it renewed his contract in 2005, the refurbishment had no funding, planning approval, building contracts or definite start date. The Court said the uncertain prospect of future works and the lack of approval for permanent posts did not justify successive fixed-term contracts.
It found Cleary’s contract became indefinite from 30 June 2005 and that he was dismissed because the Gallery wrongly classified him as a fixed-term worker. The Court did not consider his later renewals.