New Whistleblowing Laws in Ireland 2022

This event has now passed, if you are interested in purchasing the recordings please contact vanessa@legal-island.com.

Despite the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 being one of the strongest whistleblower pieces of legislation in Europe, it is to be strengthened further to give effect to the EU Whistleblowing Directive.

The Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022 reached Committee Stage in Seanad Éireann on 31^st May and will extend the protections afforded by the 2014 act in several key aspects:

• The amended Act will place an obligation on all public sector organisations and all private sector employers with 50* or more employees to establish and maintain internal reporting channels and procedures for employees to make protected disclosures. Those channels and procedures will be subject to WRC inspections;
• The Bill broadens the definition of ‘worker’ – i.e. the person who can make a protected disclosure to include almost everyone associated with an employer, including volunteers, shareholders and job applicants;
• A designated person in every organisation must follow a strict timeline for acknowledging, providing feedback and dealing with complaints;
• The Bill broadens the definition of a relevant wrongdoing, reverses the burden of proof in alleged penalisation claims, and widens the scope for employees to seek interim relief to forms of penalisation other than dismissal; and
• There will now be criminal penalties for penalisation in certain cases, including breaching the duty of confidentiality as regards the identity of a reporting person.

Make no mistake – this is one of the most important and powerful pieces of employment legislation in the history of the State.

* NOTE: The amended laws will initially apply this spring to all public sector organisations and to all private sector organisations with 250 or more employees. Private sector organisations with 50 or more will need to comply from 17^th December 2023, although the Bill allows the Minister to reduce the threshold below 50 for certain classes of employer. In addition, there is no threshold for entities in the area of financial services, products and markets and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, transport safety, and protection of the environment.

Key questions under the new legislation:

Q. In what way will existing whistleblowing policies have to change?

Q. Who (if anyone) is not covered by the law?

Q. In addition to almost EVERY health and safety complaint (save those that impact ‘exclusively’ on the individual), what else might constitute a protected disclosure, rather than your common or garden grievance? Getting it wrong could find you facing massive compensation claims and even a criminal conviction.

Q. How do you protect the whistleblower(s) and provide a (constitutional) right to a fair hearing for the alleged wrong-doer(s)?

Q. All employers covered by the new legislation must appoint a designated person who will receive and handle complaints – what is required in this pivotal role?

Q. How can employers and managers best protect themselves against allegations of penalisation that might lead to criminal conviction?

Why is this event important for YOU?

The amendments allow the WRC or Labour Court to award compensation of up to €15,000 for individuals such as job applicants who acquire information of wrong-doing during the recruitment process. That is, of course, in addition to existing penalties of up to 5x the annual salary for breaching the rights of employees.

The Bill proposes that interim relief can be obtained before the Circuit Court in all cases where a worker alleges penalisation, not just in circumstances where the worker has been dismissed e.g. to stop transfers, warnings and other sanctions below dismissal.

At present, the burden of proof in cases of penalisation under the 2014 Act rests with the person alleging wrongdoing. The new Act will reverse this burden of proof, meaning that penalisation would be presumed to have occurred because of or in retaliation for having made a protected disclosure, unless the employer could prove the act or omission was on duly justified grounds.

All employers need to be briefed fully on the amendments to avoid expensive claims and to deal with potential PR disasters.

After attending you will:

• Have received expert advice and practical guidance.
• Have received detailed notes and checklists for future reference.
• Understand the law by applying it to practical scenarios.
• Understand lessons from case law and what employers must do to combat risk.
• Have a detailed understanding of the amendments, the key areas of difficulty and developments to watch out for.
• Be able to advise your organisation on the best way forward to prepare to meet your requirements under the amended legislation.
• Know what must be included in your organisation’s whistleblowing procedure or be able to adapt your organisation’s current whistleblowing procedure (if you have one) to meet your new obligations.

Course overview/outline programme

This event is split into two parts:

Day One (22 June) considers:

• Understanding Statutory Requirements (Part 1): About the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022 and the New Requirements
• Understanding Statutory Requirements (Part 2): Creating a Supportive Culture for Whistleblowers – What this means for employers and their procedures
• Understanding Statutory Requirements (Part 3): The Whistleblower is Always Right (Unless They’re Wrong) - reversal of the burden of proof in cases concerning penalisation.

Day Two (23 June) focusses on reinforcing the learning from day one via application of practical scenarios and checklists for the audience to analyse and discuss:

• Practical Examples (1): Defining a Protected Disclosure – which of these scenarios requires a statutory response? How to tell, what to do and how to protect your organisation.
• Practical Examples (2): Reporting Channel and Procedures – Recording disclosures and setting up investigations, providing feedback
• Practical Examples (3): Round-Up, Top Tips, Standard Procedures and What to Do Next

Who is it for?

This event is a must-attend for:

• Anyone with responsibility for auditing or compliance issues and particularly for anyone who may be a designated person responsible for handling whistleblowing complaints in the workplace;
• HR professionals in all private and public sector organisations who may need to advise on or investigate employee complaints or allegations;
• Anyone else with responsibility for employment policies, risk assessment and governance; and
• Any solicitors, in-house lawyers or other representatives, who must advise on the law.

When & Where?

This event will take place online over between 9.30am and 1.00pm on both the 22 & 23 June on the NewRow platform.

Price...

Standard Rate: €315
Save an additional €20 when you book and pay online.

Additional Training Resources: Whistleblowing Awareness eLearning Training Course

The Protected Disclosures Act 2014 is one of the strongest pieces of whistleblowing legislation in Europe. It is to be strengthened further to give effect to the EU Whistleblowing Directive. The Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021 was published on 9th February 2022 and will extend whistleblowing laws to private sector employers, job applicants and volunteers, and reverse the burden of proof in penalisation claims. Employers must create and maintain internal reporting channels that will be subject to inspection by the WRC.

This newly updated course is designed to ensure your employees have not only an understanding of the importance of whistleblowing processes in the workplace but also the important protections that apply when they speak up against wrongdoing in the workplace.

Training all staff will help protect your organisation and maintain an open workplace, reduce the chances of breaking the law and avoid expensive claims and potential PR disasters.

Please complete your details in the section below to register your interest and we will be in touch with more details on the launch of this course or to discuss your training needs further, contact Debbie Wilson - debbie@legal-island.com.

Register Interest: https://forms.gle/XXfKbaiGeL4dSpYV8