Labour Court disallows Aoibheann Brady’s appeal over fixed-term work complaints

The Labour Court disallowed Aoibheann Brady’s appeal on 15 October 2013, finding her complaints under the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 were out of time; the merits were not decided. The Court refused an extension because she had not shown reasonable cause for the delay and varied the Rights Commissioner’s decision, which had dismissed her claims after she failed to attend its hearing. Brady, a former FIT Technician with County Dublin Vocational Education Committee, alleged that she received less favourable treatment than a comparable permanent employee and was not given a contract of indefinite duration. The committee disputed her proposed comparator and argued she was excluded from the Act as part of a publicly supported training programme. The Court found her work over more than four years was more akin to employment than training, so she was covered by the Act. The committee accepted that her contract had become one of indefinite duration from 1 January 2010. The Court did not address the substantive claims because they were out of time.