A Trinity College Dublin researcher paid almost €100,000 a year has been told he is not an academic and his “associate professor” title is purely honorary after taking a case to the Labour Court to secure annual pay increases.
The researcher, who is not named in the decision, has a PhD in polymer chemistry and has worked for the university since 2003. He took up a contract of indefinite duration four years later.
The court heard he currently earns €98,086 per annum, a figure that is unique to him and that has reached that level after several successful renegotiations during which he secured recognition for the amount of external funding he had attracted and for his published research work.
He claimed, however, he should be put on an appropriate staff grade and receive incremental pay increases.
He said he had been told in 2018 that he would be appointed research associate professor and paid at the associate professor grade, a scale that ranges from €92,000 to more than €118,000.
He cited documentation that included a reference to an increment intended to be applied to his pay on October 1st, 2019.
The university responded, however, that the worker does not hold a substantive academic post and so is not entitled to be paid according to an academic pay scale.
It said all such posts are filled by international competition and his associate professor title was, the court reported in its decision, “honorary in nature only and not linked to any grade or pay scale”.
The reference to increments in documents sent to him was an error, the court was told.
The university said he currently earns more than any of the Irish Universities Association recommended pay scales for an academic researcher and, as he had not suffered any financial loss, there should be no question of compensation.
In its decision, the court, chaired by Alan Haugh, found the worker’s claims were not well-founded.
“It is clear to the court that the worker has been very successful in his successive research roles in the university over the past 23 years,” it said.
The court said the employer “acknowledged this by bestowing on him the title of associate research professor”.
“It is beyond doubt that this is nothing more than an honorary title and is not linked to any substantive grade or pay scale.
“The appropriate avenue open to the worker, should he now wish to move beyond a situation where he negotiates any further increases to his salary to a situation in which he would be entitled to annual increments, is to successfully apply for a substantive academic post linked to such an incremental pay scale,” the court said.