A former lecturer at the Technological University Dublin has lost a Labour Court age discrimination case against the institution after missing out on work related to a short-term project because of rules restricting the hiring of retirees.
Colm Costello, who lectured in mechanical engineering, retired from his job in 2018 aged 62 but subsequently returned to work on several short-term projects including one commissioned by Enterprise Ireland.
When a similar opportunity arose in October 2021, Mr Costello travelled to the university to discuss what was involved and agreed to take on the work.
However, he received a call from the project coordinator the next day to say they had been advised not to hire him because of a Higher Education Authority (HEA) rule which required special permission to be granted if taking on retirees.
Mr Costello was appealing the decision of a Workplace Relations Commission adjudication officer who found he had not established discrimination under Section 83 (1) of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 to 2015.
At a hearing in December, he told the Labour Court neither a hypothetical person who was 45 nor a colleague who he knew was under 50 and had resigned would have required special approval from the authority to take up the position he was offered.
He said there was correspondence on the issue after the call on October 21st, 2021, and he was advised that a clause in the Employment Control Framework for the Higher Education Sector 2011-2014, which was still in force at the time, required that a special case be made for rehiring retirees where a third-level institution wanted to do so.
He was told the university was prepared to make such a case but the process could take two months and the project was only scheduled to last five weeks. In the end, he declined that offer but subsequently submitted that the framework document contained discriminatory clauses against retired former employees.
In response, the university said it had been willing to make the case but was aware of the timeframe involved in part because they had done so in relation to Mr Costello in June 2021 and received approval in late August.
It said he had declined their offer to speak with the client and submit the paperwork on this occasion and that, in any case, the project did not proceed at the university. It argued Mr Costello had failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination on the grounds of age.
In its decision, the Labour Court, chaired by Louise O’Donnell, agreed, accepting the university’s contention that the issue had arisen because it was bound by the HEA regulations rather than any discrimination. The appeal was rejected.
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