Mulrine v University of Ulster
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judgment Date | 01 January 1992 |
| Date | 01 January 1992 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
- Exclusions and qualifications - Period of service - Whether additional period of employment an extension of fixed-term contract or a new short-term contract - Industrial Relations (Northern Ireland) Order, 1976 (S.I. No. 1043, N.I. 16), arts. 20, 25.
From September, 1987, until December, 1989, the appellant was employed as a training and development officer by the University of Ulster (the respondent). Her appointment was initially for a period of two years and was confirmed in a letter from the respondent, dated 20 August, 1987. That letter described her appointment as being for a fixed term and stated that as part of her terms and conditions, the appellant would exclude her statutory rights against unfair dismissal. The appellant signed and returned the letter to signify her acceptance of the terms offered by the respondent. Towards the end of the appellant's two-year appointment period, the respondent received confirmation of continued external funding for the appellant's position. On 28 July, 1989, the respondent wrote to the appellant to offer an extension of her contract until 31 December, 1989. It was stated in the second letter that all other terms and conditions of employment remained the same as those contained in the letter of 20 August, 1987. The appellant's contract expired on 31 December, 1989, and was not renewed. In February, 1990, the appellant lodged an application for unfair dismissal with an industrial tribunal. The tribunal found that the appellant was excluded from bringing an action for unfair dismissal under arts. 20 and 25 of the Industrial Relations (Northern Ireland) Order, 1976. The appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal for opinion on two questions, namely: (i) whether the industrial tribunal was correct in law in holding that the appellant was excluded from bringing a claim under art. 20 of the 1976 Order and (ii) if the answer to question (i) was no, whether the tribunal was correct in law in finding that even if the appellant was not be excluded by art. 25 of the 1976 Order, she did not have the requisite period of service to bring a claim for unfair...
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...applied for 5 years by industrial tribunals. 39 The point arose again in a case in Northern Ireland, Mulrine v University of Ulster [1993] I.R.L.R. 545. An employee was employed under a contract of employment for 2 years with a waiver clause. 5 weeks before the end of that period the employ......
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