Garda with chronic asthma loses Covid discrimination case

Seán McCárthaigh

A Longford-based garda who was ordered to return to frontline duties after being allowed to work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic due to his asthma condition, has lost a discrimination claim against Garda management.

The Workplace Relation Commission ruled that 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 that the process for having Joyce return to work over the Christmas and New Year period in 2021/22 was “very badly organised".

While McGrath said it appeared 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.

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

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

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 to working from his station and took sick leave due to work-related stress.

Legal representatives for An Garda Síochána denied that any discrimination had taken place.

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.

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 Joyce’s standard of work.

McGrath said it was quite clear that his superiors were not best pleased with how 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 that a report submitted by Joyce to the force’s chief medical officer did not place him in a category of high vulnerability.

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

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

He had been informed that 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 Joyce and a superintendent over whether he had been given a personal assurance that he would not be dealing directly with the public.

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

Joyce said he was also horrified to find he had been assigned to carry out a foot patrol in Longford town centre and complained that 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 that a senior Garda told a sergeant in Longford that he should be notified if Joyce failed to report for duty on January 1, 2022 as it would be a disciplinary offence.

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

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

The WRC heard that 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.

In her ruling, McGrath said 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 McGrath.

She accepted that 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.

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 Joyce’s return to work.

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

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