The Labour Court allowed Metropolitan Films International Ltd’s appeal and set aside a Workplace Relations Commission ruling in William Hanlon’s fixed-term work complaint. The Court’s decision is dated 30 May 2024.
Hanlon said he was penalised after seeking a contract of indefinite duration because he was not called back when film production resumed in December 2019. He argued that Metropolitan Films was his employer, despite his contract being with Badlands Three TV Productions DAC, because the companies were associated.
Metropolitan Films said it had never employed Hanlon and that the production company named in his contract was his employer. The Court agreed: it found that Badlands Three TV Productions DAC, rather than Metropolitan Films, was Hanlon’s employer under the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003. The WRC’s earlier decision that the complaint was well founded was set aside. Because Metropolitan Films was not Hanlon’s employer, the Court did not decide the remaining issues in the appeal.