The Labour Court recommended that Trinity College Dublin reinstate a claimant to his former or an equivalent position after finding his redundancy contravened clause 1.6 of the Public Service Agreement. The recommendation was signed on 28 August 2015.
The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) brought the claim on behalf of its member, arguing that the College should have explored flexibility or redeployment before making him redundant. The union sought restoration of his position from July 2014. The claimant’s name is not given in the decision.
The College said the claimant had held a series of fixed-term contracts, his position had become redundant and no suitable alternative work was available. It also said he had accepted statutory redundancy and an ex-gratia payment.
The Court considered his range of duties over nine years of service and was not satisfied that his circumstances fell within the College’s claimed practice of making research employees redundant. It found the union’s claim well founded and recommended reinstatement to the former or an equivalent position from the date of dismissal.