The Labour Court rejected Dr Thomas D. Arbuckle’s appeal over his fixed-term contract at the University of Limerick and allowed the university’s cross-appeal against a finding that it had penalised him. The Court signed its determination on 20 November 2014.
Arbuckle worked on successive fixed-term research contracts, including one for the FLASH project. He argued that the contract breached the four-year limit and should have become indefinite. The university said it was for temporary project work.
The Court found that Arbuckle had been recruited for specific work on FLASH and that the university expected no continuing need for it after the project ended. It held that the fixed term was justified, so the section 9 complaint was not well founded.
The Court found that complaints under sections 6, 8 and 13(1) had been withdrawn at the Rights Commissioner hearing. It allowed the university’s cross-appeal on the section 13(1) finding and amended the earlier decision. The university accepted that Arbuckle’s employment ended by redundancy, but he had not received a lump sum.