The Labour Court dismissed the State Laboratory’s appeal and affirmed the €14,000 compensation award to Una McArdle, a laboratory technician employed on fixed-term contracts. The determination was signed on 4 April 2006.
McArdle said she had received less favourable conditions than established civil servants doing like work and had been excluded from a competition for a permanent post. The State Laboratory argued that her comparator should be an unestablished civil servant and that the post was not covered by the Act.
The Court found that established civil servants doing like work were appropriate comparators. It held that McArdle was entitled to comparable conditions, including pension arrangements and job security. It also found that excluding her from the competition because of her fixed-term status breached the Act. The Court said she had good prospects of getting the post and saw no basis to change the €10,000 compensation for that breach.