College loses redundancy case by former researcher

University College Cork has lost its legal challenge to a Labour Court order, requiring it to pay a former full-time researcher on a fixed-term contract, an ex gratia redundancy payment in addition to her statutory redundancy entitlement.

The decision by Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, means UCC has to pay Dr Naomi Bushin an additional ex gratia redundancy payment calculated on the basis of four weeks’ pay per year of service.

Mr Justice Kearns noted Dr Bushin was denied an ex gratia payment on the basis she was a fixed-term employee when such ex gratia payments were made to valid comparators. The Labour Court had correctly found Dr Bushin was treated less favourably than appropriate comparators, he ruled.

Dr Bushin had worked on an EU-funded Marie Curie Excellence Grant project in the Geography department on a fixed-term contract from Apr 1, 2006 to Sept 30, 2009.

When her contract ended, she was made redundant and paid statutory redundancy.

The fact of redundancy was not disputed, but Dr Bushin later complained, contrary to provisions of the Protection of Employees (Fixed Term) Work Act 2003, that she had been treated less favourably than a comparable permanent employee as she had not received the same ex gratia redundancy payment paid to several valid comparators.