Labour Court dismisses Douglas Sorenson's appeal against Teagasc

The Labour Court upheld the Rights Commissioner's decision that Douglas Sorenson's two complaints against Teagasc Agriculture & Food Development Authority were not well-founded, and disallowed his appeal. The determination was signed on 20 May 2016. Sorenson argued that his two Research Officer contracts counted as continuous employment, entitling him to a contract of indefinite duration. He also said Teagasc penalised him by ending his second contract. His first contract ran from April 2008 to March 2010; after a seven-month gap, he started the second in November 2010, which ended in April 2014. The Court found Teagasc had made no commitment to re-employ him after the first contract, so the gap was neither continuous employment nor a lay-off. It also found no evidence linking the research reorganisation to avoiding a contract of indefinite duration, and held that the penalisation complaint was not well-founded.