A chemical engineering lecturer who lost his job at University of Limerick when his contract expired has been awarded nearly €160,000 in compensation by the Employment Appeals Tribunal.
Duncan Martin, Riverbrook Lawns, Shannon Banks, Corbally, Co Limerick, moved from Zimbabwe to take up the post in Limerick in 2000, the tribunal was told.
It found as "credible" his claim that he did not know the job was for a fixed-term period of three years only.
In a majority decision just published, the tribunal said Mr Martin had been misled by an outgoing professor at the university who made a "false representation" as to the nature of the contract being offered.
The university had argued before the tribunal that Mr Martin had accepted and signed a fixed-term contract, which had stipulated that the unfair dismissals legislation did not apply to the post.
It was "beyond doubt" that the tribunal had no jurisdiction in the matter, counsel for the university claimed.
The tribunal heard that Mr Martin initially applied for the post of professor of chemical engineering, but no suitable candidate for the job emerged. As the best candidate available, Mr Martin was instead offered the position of senior lecturer in chemical engineering.
Mr Martin told the tribunal that the university's advertisement for the post he applied for had stated: "The position is supported by the University of Limerick Foundation for the next three years and then will revert to a permanent position."
When he was offered a contract in June 2000 the whole process was conducted by the outgoing professor of chemical engineering at the university, he said.
He added that he was told by this professor that the three-year contract was in reality a probationary period, and that this was "how probation was done in Ireland". He had accepted the contract on the basis that it was probationary and the job would become permanent.
It came as a "bombshell" when he learned the following October that this was not the case.
Witnesses for the university denied to the tribunal that Mr Martin had been misled.
The tribunal awarded compensation of €159,290.
