A long-standing IMPACT campaign to win strong protections for workplace whistleblowers will soon come to fruition when the Protected Disclosures Bill becomes law. The Bill had completed the Oireachtas process and was awaiting the President’s signature as this bulletin went to press.
The new law will provide a framework of protections for people who are victimised, or threatened with victimisation, for revealing illegal practices in the workplace. But workers must meet proper criteria to ensure that their revelations are ‘protected disclosures’ under the law.
Employers will be legally barred from victimising or sacking staff for making protected disclosures. Importantly, IMPACT’s core demand that the law should prevent employers from sacking staff pending the outcome of a case has been met.
Whistleblowers who are unfairly dismissed for making a protected disclosure will be able to seek a court order preventing the employer taking them off the payroll while a case is being heard. The maximum penalty for unfair dismissal in protected disclosure cases has also been set at five years pay – far more than the usual two years.
Reasonable
Employees will be protected from victimisation or dismissal when they disclose a ‘reasonable belief’ of illegality to their employer or a person prescribed under the act. Employees will also be immune from civil and criminal legal proceedings in such cases.
In line with union demands, the scope of the wrongdoing covered is much wider than just financial misdemeanours. It includes all illegality including health and safety breaches and failure to meet laws on minimum wages and other working conditions.
The legislation will also allow for external disclosure – for instance, to the media or a politician – in some cases, although there are tougher criteria to determine whether such disclosures are protected.
All public bodies will be required to publish guidelines about how they will deal with protected disclosures.
Advice
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions says workers are best advised to talk to their union rep before making a disclosure to ensure that they proceed correctly and gain the protections of the new law. Congress is currently drawing up a model whistleblowing policy for enterprises. The Labour Relations Commission is also drawing up guidelines.
IMPACT national secretary Matt Staunton, who worked with ICTU on the issue, says the Irish legislation is strong by international standards. “This legislation will at last give genuine protection to workers who, in good faith, reveal illegality or suspected illegality in the workplace. The ability to prevent bad employers from sacking staff in genuine cases of whistleblowing is a particularly important victory for trade unions and everyone who genuinely wants to tackle illegal practices at work,” he said.
IMPACT will be publishing a guide to the new act on its website once the legislation is enacted.
