LCR23169

PARTIES:

DIVISION:

SUBJECT:

Appeal of Adjudication Officer Decision No's: ADJ-00054090 (CA-00065964-001 IR-SC 00003123)

BACKGROUND:

The Worker appealed the Adjudication Officer’s Recommendation to the Labour Court on 17 April 2025 in accordance with Section 13(9) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969.

A Labour Court hearing took place on 02 July 2025.

DECISION:

Background to the Dispute

This is an appeal on behalf of An Garda Síochána (‘the Employer’) from a Recommendation of an Adjudication Officer (ADJ-00054090, dated 14 March 2025) under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 (‘the Act’). The Adjudication Officer recommended that “every effort be made to transfer the Complainant to one of the many towns he nominated as being suitable as soon as ever such a transfer might be practical”.

Notice of Appeal was received in the Court on 17 April 2025. The Court heard the appeal in Cork on 2 July 2025. The Worker is a Garda Sergeant and he appeared unrepresented; the Employer was represented by Ms Jo De Lamar, Employee Relations Manager.

The Dispute

The Court received very lengthy written submission from both Parties. However, the kernel of the within dispute can be succinctly summarised as follows.

The Worker was transferred to his current location shortly after his promotion to the grade of Sergeant in 2019. That location is approximately one hour’s drive from his home. The Worker has sought to avail himself of the Employer’s transfer procedures since then in order to obtain a posting closer to his home for family reasons. He received a number of offers none of which ultimately suited him and which he declined.

The Worker referred a complaint under section 13 of the Act to the Workplace Relations Commission on 4 July 2024 in which he outlined the offers of transfer that had been made to him and stated why they were unacceptable. He also stated that he was aware of some “30 vacancies for Sergeants in stations that have been filled since [he] first submitted [his] application for transfer” many of which would have been accepted by him and which he would have regarded as of benefit to his family.

The Worker’s Submission

The Worker submits that there is a lack of transparency in the transfer processes operated by the Employer and that his sense of having been treated unfairly stems primarily from the fact that he has never received a clear explanation as to why he was offered certain transfer options but not others that would have been more suitable to his circumstances. He specifically requests in his written submission that the Court would recommend the introduction in An Garda Síochána of “a transparent procedure for the handling of transfers whereupon a visible queue would be available in the interest of fairness to all members and a clearer rationale be available to members who are moved considerable distances on promotion while others are not.”

In the course of the hearing, the Worker told the Court that as he has a relatively short period of service remaining before he becomes eligible for retirement and because he is very familiar with the people in the locality where he is currently serving, he is no longer minded to relocate.

The Employer’s Submission

It is submitted on behalf of the Employer that each of the transfer applications made by the Worker were handled in accordance with the procedures set out in Chapter 8 of the Garda Code. The Worker was offered a transfer on each occasion to a Division which was one of the options he had specified in his application. The Worker subsequently made a complaint under the Disputes Resolution Procedures in regard to his transfer applications. That complaint was fully investigated and was found to be without merit. Finally, it was submitted that there is no requirement on the Employer to accede to any request for a transfer of a member of An Garda Síochána as “only Garda management can decide on transfers given the requirement to balance personnel and policing operations.”

Discussion and Decision

It seems, in the light of what the Worker has told the Court, that the issue of his own transfer has become moot. Nevertheless, the Court finds merit in the Employer’s appeal of the Adjudication Officer’s Recommendation in so far as the decision to accede to any application to transfer from a serving Member can only be taken by Garda management in accordance with Chapter 8 procedures and having regard to the need to balance personnel and policing operations. The recommendation of the Adjudication Officer is, accordingly, set aside and the appeal succeeds.

The Worker’s request to the Court to recommend the introduction of a more transparent transfer process generally across An Garda Síochána is not one that is appropriately made in the context of an appeal under section 13 as it gives rise to issues that are collective in nature.

The Court so decides.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Alan Haugh
ÁM	______________________
22 July 2025	Deputy Chairman

NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Decision should be addressed to Ms Áine Maunsell, Court Secretary.