Labour Court rejects UCD worker’s appeal over out-of-time redundancy claim

The Labour Court disallowed Dr Aideen Hartney’s appeal against a finding that her fixed-term work complaint against University College Dublin was out of time. The Court affirmed the Rights Commissioner’s decision and said the merits were not decided. Hartney worked for UCD Research on fixed-term contracts until September 2011 and later returned to the university on another fixed-term contract. She claimed she was treated less favourably than a comparable permanent employee because she did not receive an ex-gratia redundancy payment. The Court found the six-month time limit began when her employment ended. It rejected her request for an extension and said her lack of knowledge of the time limit or a legal precedent did not stop or extend it. The determination was signed on 10 June 2013.