The Mere Fact that the Renewal of a Fixed Term Contract would Result in the Employee Acquiring a Contract of Indefinite Duration was Sufficient for Employee to be awarded €15,000 for Non-Renewal of the Contract

In Hugh O’Neill v Trinity College Dublin, the Workplace Relations Commission (“WRC”) heard a Complaint from Mr O’Neill (“the Complainant”) under the Protection of Employees (Fixed Term Work) Act 2003 (“the FTW Act”).   He claimed that Trinity College Dublin (“the Respondent”) had not renewed his fixed term contract due to the fact that if it was renewed, he would become entitled to a Contract of Indefinite Duration (“CID”). He claimed that the Respondent’s business strategy was being used retrospectively to justify his dismissal.

Facts:

The Complainant had been employed by the Respondent on a series of Fixed Term Contracts since October 2017 and was dismissed on 31^st December 2020.   One of the Complainant’s contracts had been for a period of two years, another for one year and a final contract for three months.  His position was that of Business Development Manager, however after his dismissal the Respondent advertised a role of Business Analyst.  The Respondent argued that there was a business plan in place which favoured analytics to development and focused on hiring fixed term workers rather than permanent employees.

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