THE SUPREME Court yesterday dismissed a claim by a former diocesan secretary that she was entitled to a "job for life".
The court's unanimous decision marks the final stage in the lengthy and what the court described as "rather sad dispute" involving three successive bishops of the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin and Mary Sheehy arising from the decision in 2002 to make Ms Sheehy redundant.
Ms Sheehy (55), of Green Road, Carlow, had in 2005 lost a High Court challenge to the decision to make her redundant. She appealed that decision to the Supreme Court. Delivering judgment, Mr Justice Hugh Geoghegan, with Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns and Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan, said there was really only one issue to be considered and that related to the tenure of her employment.
Ms Sheehy had been employed by the VEC at Carlow RTC but in 1974 she took up the position as secretary to Bishop Patrick Lennon of the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin. She claimed Bishop Lennon told her her employment would be permanent and pensionable and this meant, unless there was serious illness or misbehaviour, that she could remain in her position until the age of 65.
She remained in her position under Dr Lennon's successor, Bishop Laurence Ryan, after Bishop Lennon retired in 1987. Bishop Ryan prepared a document relating to her employment which provided her pay was to be linked to the incremental salary scale attached to the senior administrative position which she had held at Carlow RTC, plus an extra 25 per cent because of extra responsibilities attaching to her post.
The document also stated provision would be made for pension but the proposed pension arrangements, the judge noted, bore no relationship to the VEC post.
Mr Justice Geoghegan said there was nothing in Dr Ryan's document to indicate the agreement could not be terminated upon reasonable notice. He also noted that, after Bishop Lennon's death, a fund intended to provide accommodation for Bishop Lennon and his housekeeper in the bishop's retirement, was allocated for the sole purpose of providing a pension/lump sum for Ms Sheehy. It was clear Bishop Ryan had made various attempts to get Ms Sheehy to agree to "less costly arrangements", both in salary and pension, the judge said. All of that "uncertainty" indicated there was no special contractual term to prevent the normal principle of termination by reasonable notice being applied, he said.
Eventually, at the end of Bishop Ryan's period of office and just before he was replaced by Bishop James Moriarty, Ms Sheehy was told in 2002 she was being made redundant but she continued to claim she had a job for life, until age 65, the judge said. The High Court rejected that. Mr Justice Geogheghan said there was ample evidence to support the High Court's finding that Ms Sheehy was offered a "permanent and pensionable post" by Bishop Lennon but there was no express or implied added condition that it would be for life or until age 65.
An employer may, unless there is a contract with clear and unambiguous terms to the contrary, dismiss an employee for any reason or no reason on giving reasonable notice, he said. In this case, there was no such written contract and what constituted Ms Sheehy's contract was a mixture of express oral terms and implied terms. He was satisfied the general rule - that the agreement could be terminated on reasonable notice - applied.