Labour Court rejects Michael Hayes’s fixed-term work complaint

The Labour Court found Michael Hayes’s complaint under the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 not well founded, ruling that he was not engaged under a contract of employment. The Court varied the Adjudication Officer’s decision in a ruling dated 18 December 2025. Hayes argued that successive fixed-term appointments over 11 years entitled him to a contract of indefinite duration. The Minister For Enterprise Trade & Employment said he was an office holder, not an employee under a contract of service. The Court applied its reasoning in a linked appeal involving the same facts, finding that Hayes was outside the Act’s protections.