Garda loses discrimination claim over being forced to return to frontline duties despite asthma

Garda also made a formal complaint of bullying against five more senior garda, as well as requesting a transfer.

A Longford-based garda has lost a claim he was discriminated against by Garda management when ordered to return to frontline duties after being allowed to work from home during the covid-19 pandemic due to his asthma.

The Workplace Relation Commission ruled the Garda commissioner had not breached the Employment Equality Act 1998 by discriminating against Garda Joseph Joyce on grounds of disability within the relevant time period.

However, WRC adjudication officer Penelope McGrath said it was clear the process for having Garda Joyce return to work over the Christmas and new year period in 2021/22 was “very badly organised".

While Ms McGrath said it appeared Garda Joyce had been discriminated against by failure to provide him with reasonable accommodation in that period, she found he had submitted his complaint outside the six-month time limit under the relevant legislation.

She ruled no discrimination had taken place in the six months before Garda Joyce submitted his complaint in October 2022, in a period he was on sick leave.

Garda Joyce, who joined the force in July 1999, claimed Garda management had failed to provide him with reasonable accommodation for his disability.

He complained he was not permitted to work from home, while no specific risk assessment had been carried out for him at his workplace.

Garda Joyce told the WRC hearing, which took place over 10 days between September and December 2025, that he became unwell as a result of being directed to return working from his station and took sick leave due to work-related stress.

Legal representatives for An Garda Síochána denied any discrimination had taken place. Garda Joyce, who worked in Longford since 2017, said he suffered from chronic asthma which caused fluctuating respiratory problems.

The WRC heard he applied for special leave at the outset of the covid-19 pandemic because of the condition and was allowed to work remotely from home by a local superintendent.

His work involved processing data on the Garda’s Pulse system and preparing bail packs.

Garda Joyce said he started receiving “welfare visits” from senior gardaí from August 2021, which he felt involved a full “bells and whistles” treatment and an unwarranted intrusion into his privacy.

Garda representatives said the visits were arranged because a superintendent was unhappy about Garda Joyce’s standard of work.

Ms McGrath said it was quite clear his superiors were not best pleased with how Garda Joyce had been dressed “in extremely dirty clothes and had the appearance of a man who had done a hard day’s physical work".

The WRC official noted a report submitted by Garda Joyce to the force’s chief medical officer did not place him in a category of high vulnerability.

She said it appeared he assumed his GP’s advice that he ought to work from home would be automatically accepted by his employer.

Ms McGrath said she accepted Garda Joyce must have been very surprised when he was ordered back to work in Longford in December 2021.

He had been informed Garda numbers were down and more officers were needed “on the streets”, as shopkeepers and the business community wanted a visible Garda presence.

The WRC heard there was a dispute between Garda Joyce and a superintendent over whether he had been given a personal assurance that he would not be dealing directly with the public.

Garda Joyce eventually returned to work on January 1, 2022, despite originally being directed to report for duty on December 9, 2021, but went on sick leave after a few days.

He complained he was given the choice of providing a specialist report or reporting for duty.

Garda Joyce said he was also horrified to find he had been assigned to carry out a foot patrol in Longford town centre and complained the Garda station was not a sterile environment — a claim challenged by Garda witnesses, who said covid-19 procedures had been followed.

The WRC heard a senior Garda told a sergeant in Longford he should be notified if Garda Joyce failed to report for duty on January 1, 2022, as it would be a disciplinary offence.

Ms McGrath said it was never satisfactorily explained why he did not obtain a medical report from a consultant and noted none had ever been sought by Garda management.

She said Garda Joyce had provided very little medical evidence to support his request to work from home.

The WRC heard Garda Joyce claimed his normal salary of €70,000 was cut in half after being on sick leave for three months, which had affected his mental health.

He also made a formal complaint of bullying against five more senior garda, as well as requesting a transfer.

Garda representatives claimed the defining feature of the case was the complainant’s own paranoia and over-sensitivity.

WRC ruling

In her ruling, Ms McGrath said Garda Joyce had an ongoing disability and had been allowed to work from home for his own safety without any real scrutiny of his condition.

She observed there was quite clearly “a tone of scepticism” in communication about his fitness to attend his workplace and his ongoing vulnerable status.

“Whether this scepticism is borne out of resentment, or exhaustion or a failure to empathise, I cannot decide,” said Ms McGrath.

She said Garda management was on notice since November 2021 about the complainant’s asthma but had not taken the obvious course of action of seeking a medical report based on a physical examination, because it decided “that it knew better".

“The employer decided that the complainant could be safely returned to the workplace subject to a set of accommodations and safety measures to be seemingly made up on the fly. This was an extraordinary scenario. In more normal times, I would be more critical,” said Ms McGrath.

She accepted Garda Joyce’s superiors were genuinely frustrated by what they perceived as his reluctance to play his part during an exceptionally challenging period.

However, she said he was also entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.

Ms McGrath said there was no entitlement to return him to the workplace under the threat of disciplinary action when no proper risk assessment had been conducted.

She said it did Garda management no credit that they opted to delay a proposed transfer of Garda Joyce to Claremorris, Co Mayo, in the context of medical suitability because of his WRC complaint and another claim before the High Court.

She claimed it was “inappropriate” to knit the WRC claim into a final and favourable outcome for Garda Joyce’s return to work.

Gard Joyce claimed he was told any transfer would only be temporary unless he dropped his various claims.

The WRC heard he returned to work on November 17, 2023, on a temporary basis in Claremorris.