Police officer with 36 years of service challenges dismissal in court

A Lithuanian police officer with 36 years of service has challenged his age-based dismissal in court, LRT reported. Vaidas Giršvildas, who turned 60, says he wanted to continue working but did not know he had to submit a request to do so.

Giršvildas has filed a complaint with the Regional Administrative Court. He says he was not told about the request, while several colleagues of the same age were contacted about the required formalities. He could have remained in service until 65 if he had applied.

Police Department communications chief Ramūnas Matonis said age limits apply across the internal service system, not only in the police. If an officer does not submit a request, that is understood as a decision not to continue serving.

Roma Katinienė, head of the Lithuanian Police Trade Union, said the employer should inform officers about their options. She suggested personal considerations might have played a role in Giršvildas’s case. According to news outlet 15min, Police Commissioner General Arūnas Paulauskas said Giršvildas’s direct supervisor did not see significant added value in keeping him in the police.

Katinienė said the existing statute need not be changed to prevent similar cases. She proposed an internal procedure requiring personnel staff to check whether officers approaching the age limit want to continue working.