Labour Court overturns Teagasc reinstatement recommendation on appeal

The Labour Court overturned a recommendation to reinstate a worker at Teagasc and instead recommended a redundancy payment, including public sector ex-gratia terms. The decision was signed on 17 December 2013. Teagasc appealed the Rights Commissioner’s recommendation to reinstate the worker from 26 October 2012, without loss of pay or service. The Irish Municipal, Public and Civil Trade Union argued that Teagasc had breached local agreements and that she should be reinstated. Teagasc said her specified-purpose contract had ended under its terms. The Court found that the dispute fell within a 2009 agreement, but a recruitment moratorium had prevented its implementation. It said Teagasc had not discussed the change with the union, adversely affecting the worker. The Court upheld Teagasc’s appeal and recommended a redundancy payment without delay.