WRC rejects doctor’s claim for contract of indefinite duration

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has found that the HSE did not breach fixed-term work legislation in its treatment of a hospital doctor who claimed he was unfairly denied a contract of indefinite duration.

The case concerned a doctor who worked as an emergency department registrar at Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise, on a series of fixed-term contracts between January 2020 and January 2024. He argued that, after several annual renewals, he should have been given a contract under the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003.

The doctor said his contracts were renewed year after year and his duties never changed. He said that a one-month break – during which he worked in the same role through an agency – may have been used to “avoid offering me a contract of indefinite duration”. He also claimed the HSE failed to give him written reasons for continuing to use fixed-term contracts.

The HSE rejected the claim and argued that the doctor did not meet the legal thresholds for a permanent contract. It said his employment was not continuous because of the period of agency work in early 2023 and that, even if it were counted, the total duration of his fixed-term contracts fell short of the four years required under the Act. The HSE also said agency workers are excluded from the scope of the legislation.

In its findings, the WRC noted that the doctor had three fixed-term contracts, followed by a period of agency work, and then a further fixed-term contract. While acknowledging the doctor’s frustration, the Adjudication Officer said the legislation must be applied strictly.

The Adjudication Officer found that, when the doctor’s contract ended in January 2023, “the aggregate duration did not exceed four years” and therefore the statutory trigger for a contract of indefinite duration was not reached. The decision also noted that, at that point, the employer chose not to renew the contract, which was permitted under the Act.

The WRC rejected the argument that the agency period could be used to bridge continuity, noting that agency workers fall outside the protections of the 2003 Act. The doctor’s total service was found to fall short of the 208 weeks required.

On the second complaint – that the HSE failed to provide written reasons justifying the continued use of fixed-term contracts – the WRC found the claim was out of time. The doctor lodged the complaint more than a year after the final contract was issued, outside of the six-month statutory limit.