The Labour Court allowed James Wogan to amend his complaint against Dublin Institute of Technology to include a claim that he was penalised by dismissal to prevent his fixed-term contract becoming one of indefinite duration. The preliminary determination was signed on 19 May 2014.
Wogan worked for the institute under fixed-term contracts from April 2009 until 31 December 2012. He argued that his original complaint form conveyed the substance of his claim because it said project funding continued after his job ended. The institute argued that the claim was first raised at a Rights Commissioner hearing on 8 October 2013, outside the six-month time limit.
The Court found the form could be read as raising the claim and said the institute would not be prejudiced by the amendment because it had known about the claim and addressed it in submissions. It directed Wogan to provide details of his evidence and witnesses, and said it would proceed to hear the amended complaint. The Court has yet to decide whether the institute penalised him.