Complainant v Respondent [2026]
Decision Number: ADJ-00058489 Legal Body: Workplace Relations Commission
Published on: 23/04/2026
Issues Covered:
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Patrick Barrett BL Barrister-at-Law
Patrick Barrett BL Barrister-at-Law
Patrick barrett case reviews

The Bar of Ireland

Orchard Way, Killarney V93Y9W9.
DX: 51010 Killarney 
Tel: (087) 4361270

Patrick's legal education is robust, beginning with a BCL Law Degree from University College Cork (2012-2016), followed by an LL.M in Business Law from the same institution (2016-2017), and culminating in a Barrister-at-Law Degree from The Honorable Society of King’s Inns in Dublin (2019-2021). He has extensive experience on the South-West Circuit, handling Civil, Family, and Criminal Law cases, as well as advising the Citizen Advice Service.  He has worked as an employment consultant, dealing with workplace investigations and bankruptcy procedures.

Complainant:
Complainant
Respondent:
Respondent
Summary

An employee’s successive fixed term project roles were found to be objectively justified, with no entitlement to a contract of indefinite duration or evidence of penalisation, and all claims were dismissed.

Background

The Complainant stated that she had been employed since 2005 in a permanent Grade 7 role before undertaking successive fixed-term appointments at Assistant Principal Officer level from 2019 to 2025. She stated that her first APO role, linked to the Respondent's merger project, had been repeatedly renewed over a number of years, which she contended gave rise to an entitlement to a contract of indefinite duration under the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003.  She argued that the temporary designation applied by the Respondent did

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Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 23/04/2026
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