A former lecturer at the Institute of Technology, Tallaght, Dublin, has claimed the college "sacked" him without warning from a permanent position as a French teacher.
Mr Gerard Cullen lectured at the institute in 1996/97 and 1997/98, but was not asked to take classes in the next academic term. He has taken his case to the Employment Appeals Tribunal for unfair dismissal.
However, the president of the college, Mr Columb Collins, said Mr Cullen was not a permanent employee and was only "engaged from year to year".
He said this was the practice in the college, although recently it had changed. He said Mr Cullen was not "sacked" and this was an incorrect word to use.
He said while the college did not then issue written contracts to part-time lecturing staff, P45s were issued when their year of work ended. Mr Cullen claimed he did not receive a P45 in his first academic term and a P45 only arrived after he was dismissed.
Mr Cullen said there were 11 full-time and 17 part-time lecturers in the college's Languages Department in 1997/98. He said this amounted to an exploitation of part-time workers. He said his hours, particularly in 1996/97, exceeded 16 hours and this entitled him to some form of permanent employment.
Mr Cullen, representing himself in the hearing, asked Mr Collins if a warning was given before it was decided he would not be given classes to teach in 1998/99. "It is certainly possible that no warning was given, but I don't think any warning was necessary," said Mr Collins.
Mr Collins added that part-time lecturers were asked to apply for work each year and advertisements for positions were placed in national newspapers.
He said positions were advertised in The Irish Times in 1998 and no record of Mr Cullen's availability was held with the college. He said they had no CV for Mr Cullen so he could not be considered for work the next year. Mr Cullen said it was "nonsense" for the college to claim that he had a non-renewable one-year contract because he received nothing in writing.
Ms Helen O'Connell, the former head of the Languages Department, told the tribunal that at the end of each year, part-time lecturing staff who were "qualified and needed" were contacted and offered classes after applying to the advertisement.
She said, however, that she always told people, "I can't guarantee you anything legally".
The case resumes today.