The Workplace Relations Commission found that veterinary inspector Louis Reardon’s complaint that his transfer was retaliation for making protected disclosures was not well founded. The decision was dated 31 August 2023.
Reardon, who worked for the Department of Agriculture, said he lost status when he was moved from the Investigations Division to other duties. The respondent, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and The Marine, said the transfer followed a review and long-service criteria, and that those who made the decision did not know about his disclosures.
The adjudicator found that the transfer was unfairly handled and diminished Reardon’s status, amounting to a detriment. The adjudicator also found that a meeting about a possible move in 2017 was connected to his disclosures. But the evidence did not establish that the 2020 reassignment was retaliation: two colleagues were also moved on seniority grounds, and the main decision-makers did not know about the disclosures at the time.
A separate complaint under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 was withdrawn at the hearing. The protected-disclosure complaint was unsuccessful.