The co-producer of the multi-Oscar-nominated The Banshees of Inisherin and Netflix hit Valhalla has won the first appeal against a cumulative award €434,216 made to a group of 22 film workers.
The Labour Court set aside a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) award to Irish Film Workers’ Association (IFWA) member and Penny Dreadful and Into The Badlands stage hand Clive McCarthy of €5,337 last December.
In the ruling, deputy chairwoman of the Labour Court Katie Connolly said that the court had found no evidence that appellant Metropolitan Films International Limited was the employer of Mr McCarthy.
As a result, Ms Connolly concluded that it was not necessary for the court to determine the other preliminary matters in relation to the court’s jurisdiction to hear the appeal.
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Ms Connolly said that the court found that the complaint under the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts was not well-founded and the decision of the WRC adjudication officer was set aside.
Metropolitan Films International has lodged appeals concerning the awards made to the 22 workers relating to the cumulative award of €434,216 and the McCarthy case was the first appeal decided and a second appeal has been heard and ruled by the Labour Court with the ruling to be published shortly.
Asked to comment on the McCarthy Labour Court ruling, a spokeswoman for Metropolitan Films International said on Monday: “Metropolitan Films International Limited is pleased that the recent ruling from the Labour Court, setting aside a previous adjudication from the WRC, fully confirms and vindicates the company’s position on these matters from the outset.”
Metropolitan Films International told the Labour Court that Mr McCarthy was not employed by the company and there was no evidence whatsoever of any employment relationship with Mr McCarthy.
The movie company stated that it is a production company that identifies material for film/TV projects and sources funding to develop projects with writers and directors.
It said that once a project was financed, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is established to produce that project and all employees and contractors are engaged and paid by the SPV.
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Metropolitan said that during the period June 2017 to March 2018, Mr McCarthy was employed as a PAYE employee in the role of stage hand by two such separate SPV entities: Badlands Three TV Productions DAC and VK Six Productions DAC.
The Labour Court report said it was told that Mr McCarthy was not proceeding with the case on health grounds and did not attend the hearing to rebut the appeal.
Ms Connolly said that, as a result, the only evidence presented to the court was that from Metropolitan Films International.
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