King & ors -v- Aer Lingus PLC [2005] IESC 84 (20 December 2005)

King & ors -v- Aer Lingus PLC [2005] IESC 84 (20 December 2005)

The contractual guarantees given to the appellants as part of the secondment to TEAM Aer Lingus were not limited in time. The intention and effect of the agreement was to place the appellants in the same position as if they had never been seconded, with full restoration of rights, status, seniority, and entitlements upon return. Any limitation to a 'reasonable time' would undermine the purpose of the guarantees and place the appellants in a worse position than their colleagues who were not seconded.

Citation
[2005] IESC 84
Parties
Plaintiffs/appellants: William King, Garrett Madigan, William Graham, Dermot D’Arcy, Christopher Healy, Brendan Baker, Matt Graham, Hugh Rafferty, Neil Quinn, John O’Donnell, Patrick Curry, Richard P. O’Connor, Patrick Gleeson, John Doyle, Liam Colgan, James A. McCann, Christopher O’Connor, Patrick Foley, Gerry Cummins, Thomas Burke, Alan Brodigan, Peter J. Conway, Michael Dardis, Michael Derham, Aidan Boland, Eamon Buckley, John Keenan, James Maher, Eric Norton, Vincent O’Connor, Richard Barber, George Barker, Stephen Brogan, Martin Burke, Thomas Burke, Jim Byrne, Tim Carroll, Laurence Clarke, Jim Doyle, Brian Flood, Padraic Geraghty, Adrian Heron, James Lewis, Patrick Macken, Patrick Molloy, Noel Murphy, Nollaig O’Mahony, Gerald O’Sullivan, John O’Sullivan, Nicholas Radford, William Sharkey, David Smith, Peter Smith, Matthew Walsh, Brian Webberley; Defendant/respondent: Aer Lingus Plc
Jurisdiction
Ireland
Judgment Date
20 December 2005
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Supreme Court Appeal From High Court
Outcome
Appeal allowed; High Court order limiting entitlements to four years set aside
Legal Topics
Secondment of Employees, Contractual Guarantees, Seniority and Employment Rights, Redeployment, Damages for Breach of Contract
Employment Law Contract Law Secondment of Employees Contractual Guarantees Seniority and Employment Rights Redeployment Damages for Breach of Contract

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 2 Party arguments 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

William King, Garrett Madigan, William Graham, Dermot D’Arcy, Christopher Healy, Brendan Baker, Matt Graham, Hugh Rafferty, Neil Quinn, John O’Donnell, Patrick Curry, Richard P. O’Connor, Patrick Gleeson, John Doyle, Liam Colgan, James A. McCann, Christopher O’Connor, Patrick Foley, Gerry Cummins, Thomas Burke, Alan Brodigan, Peter J. Conway, Michael Dardis, Michael Derham, Aidan Boland, Eamon Buckley, John Keenan, James Maher, Eric Norton, Vincent O’Connor, Richard Barber, George Barker, Stephen Brogan, Martin Burke, Thomas Burke, Jim Byrne, Tim Carroll, Laurence Clarke, Jim Doyle, Brian Flood, Padraic Geraghty, Adrian Heron, James Lewis, Patrick Macken, Patrick Molloy, Noel Murphy, Nollaig O’Mahony, Gerald O’Sullivan, John O’Sullivan, Nicholas Radford, William Sharkey, David Smith, Peter Smith, Matthew Walsh, Brian Webberley

Plaintiffs/appellants

Aer Lingus Plc

Defendant/respondent

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Supreme Court Appeal From High Court

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the contractual guarantees given to employees seconded to TEAM Aer Lingus were limited in time or indefinite
  2. 2 Whether returning employees were entitled to be treated as if they had never been seconded, with full restoration of rights, status, and seniority

Ratio Decidendi

The contractual guarantees given to the appellants as part of the secondment to TEAM Aer Lingus were not limited in time. The intention and effect of the agreement was to place the appellants in the same position as if they had never been seconded, with full restoration of rights, status, seniority, and entitlements upon return. Any limitation to a 'reasonable time' would undermine the purpose of the guarantees and place the appellants in a worse position than their colleagues who were not seconded.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; High Court order limiting entitlements to four years set aside

Orders

  • Appellants entitled to be treated as if they had never been seconded, with full restoration of rights, status, seniority, and entitlements without time limitation
  • Damages to be awarded in accordance with this finding