# Contract of indefinite duration



## Paddylast (30 Jun 2009)

My sister is a lecturer in one of the universities here and has been employed on rolling contracts for over 5 years. After much pressure the college has this year issued her and several colleagues with "contracts of indefinete duration".  I am presuming these are permanant contracts. However, they are now refusing to pay any salary for the months of July and August with the result that my sister will have no income. She is a separated lady with children!!  Is the college within its rights to do this even though contract is a permanent one?  Signing on is her only answer and that is estimated to take up to four weeks. In the meantime she has no income. Dreadful to think that colleges treat their staff so badly.
Anyone know the rights and wrongs of such a situation?


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## TLC (1 Jul 2009)

I hope this link is useful to you  http://www.entemp.ie/employment/rights/ ) :


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## TLC (1 Jul 2009)

Or this link - sorry didn't see it before now  [broken link removed]


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## Paddylast (1 Jul 2009)

Thanks TLC for that. Unfortunately the latter link appears to apply only to teachers at school rather than university level. Seems that lecturers are treated very badly -something most people don't know.  They don't even have a pay scale!! On the same salary for years. incredible.  
Has anyone else experience in this regard?


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## csirl (1 Jul 2009)

All depends what the contract says. As a general rule, there would be nothing illegal about the contract saying that you are only paid for 10 months of the year if you only work 10 months of the year. "Term time" contracts exist in many public sector jobs. If money management is an issue, can she request that her salary be paid in 12 monthly installments instead of 10?

Was she paid over 12 months before being offered the new contract? Is it the same job? What reasons was she given for being on successive contracts e.g. filling in for Maternity leave, career break etc. May be some fixed term working act implications here.


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## Paddylast (7 Jul 2009)

Hi csirl,
She's been in the same job for years and on the same money!!  The university got away with it until the lecturers involved joined a union and took their case to them. Only when threatened with action under the Fixed Term working Act did the college authorities move.  All other lecturers are paid for the full 12 months the same as teachers in primary and secondary schools.  The successive contract were just like any others given to people before the ACt became law. In other words they were used to engage people and then them go at the drop of a hat. I believe this sort of thing was common in all universities!!


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## g1g (7 Jul 2009)

generally contracts of indefinite duration are given when there is a ban on giving permanent contracts (i.e. the HSE) and the employee has completed the 3 years temporary. Therefore when ban is lifted, she should get her indefinite duration contract replaced with permanent contract.


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## bigchicken (10 Jul 2009)

g1g said:


> generally contracts of indefinite duration are given when there is a ban on giving permanent contracts (i.e. the HSE) and the employee has completed the 3 years temporary. Therefore when ban is lifted, she should get her indefinite duration contract replaced with permanent contract.


 
Lots of public sector places have been giving out CIDs even when there was no ban on permanant employees.

In relation to the lecturer - permanent lecturers get increments the same as other public sector works, there must have been something specific with your friends contract if she has not got any increments. Presumably when she signed the new contract she agreed to the new terms? Or are you saying that your friend was not advised of the terms? What does the contract say?


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