Labour Court varies annual leave decision over jurisdiction

The Labour Court varied an Adjudication Officer’s decision on Sean Reilly’s annual leave complaint, finding it had no jurisdiction to consider the claim. The merits were not decided. In a decision dated 24 May 2024, Reilly argued that he was entitled to paid annual leave for his service as a Rights Commissioner and Adjudication Officer. The Minister For Enterprise Trade and Employment argued that his arrangement had ended before the relevant time limit began. The Court found that the arrangement ended no later than 3 July 2018, when Reilly said he would no longer make his services available. The complaint was submitted on 26 February 2019, and the six-month limitation period began on 27 August 2018. Because the arrangement had ended before then, the Court could not decide whether he was entitled to annual leave.