Publication
Information for whistleblowers
From Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner (OPDC)
Published on
Last updated on
From Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner (OPDC)
Published on
Last updated on
Circumstances may arise where a reporting person no longer wishes to proceed with their report. Where a reporting person no longer wishes to proceed with their report, they should contact the office in writing as soon as possible confirming their position and the reason for same. Any communication from the reporting person will be considered and such action will be taken as the Commissioner considers appropriate.
However, it is not possible to withdraw a report of relevant wrongdoing. For this reason, reporting persons are advised to participate in our pre-engagement procedure before making their report.
It is important to note that we are not an appeals body. This means that we cannot examine how another public body has dealt with a disclosure.
The word “whistleblower” is not used in the Protected Disclosures Act. Instead the Act refers to a “protected disclosure.” A protected disclosure is a particular type of report by a worker which relates to wrongdoing in the workplace.
The Protected Disclosures Act can provide certain protections where you report wrongdoing in the workplace. To qualify for the protections under the Act, you must meet certain conditions. In general, these conditions are that you must be a worker reporting information you obtained in a work related context that you reasonably believe tends to show relevant wrongdoing. Additional conditions apply depending on to whom you are making your report.
A report is assumed to be a protected disclosure until it is established that it is not.
Before you make your report we would recommend that you consider the questions below. You should be able to answer yes to all the following questions before you make your report:
1 Are you a Worker as defined in the Protected Disclosures Act?
2. Did the information you are reporting come to your attention in connection with your employment or in a work related context?
3. Do you genuinely believe that the information tends to show one or more relevant wrongdoings?
4. Would a reasonable person believe that the information tends to show relevant wrongdoing?
5. Are you sure that the wrongdoing is not exclusively personal to you? (see below for information on personal grievances)
6. Have you considered making a report to your employer?
7. If are reporting to a person who is not your employer, do you satisfy the criteria set out in the Act?
If you are considering making a report to the Protected Disclosures Commissioner, you should also be able to answer yes to the following:
1. Have you considered making a report to a ‘prescribed person’ e.g. a regulator?
2. Do you have a genuine belief that the information and any allegations made are substantially true?
3. Would a reasonable person believe that the information and any allegations made are substantially true?
If your report qualifies as a protected disclosure under the Act, you will have a number of protections which are set out below.
Deciding to report a wrongdoing might be a big decision for you depending on your circumstances. If you wish to discuss it first, Transparency International Ireland offers a confidential information and support service, as well as access to free legal advice on making protected disclosures.
In an employment context, a grievance can be a complaint by an employee to their employer. Sometimes a grievance is a protected disclosure but this is not always the case.
A grievance that is exclusively personal to the employee is unlikely to be a protected disclosure.
Personal employment complaints should generally be dealt with under internal grievance procedures or the employer’s other procedures e.g. dignity at work procedure.
If you are dismissed from your job because you made a protected disclosure, you may make a complaint of unfair dismissal to the Workplace Relations Commission and you may also be able to bring a case to the Circuit Court for interim relief.
Normally you have six months to make a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission. This period can be extended for another six months if there is a reasonable cause for the delay.
An application for interim relief to the Circuit Court must be made within 21 days of the date you were dismissed.
For information on where you can seek advice on this and other issues, please see our resources page.
With the exception of defamation proceedings, civil legal action cannot be taken against you for making a protected disclosure.
Workers can be sued for defamation but are entitled to a defence of “qualified privilege”. This means that it should be very difficult for a defamation case against a worker to succeed if the worker can show they made a protected disclosure in accordance with the Act and did not act maliciously.
There is no other basis on which a worker can be sued if they have made a protected disclosure in accordance with the Act – e.g. a worker who makes a protected disclosure cannot be sued for breach of confidentiality.
If you are prosecuted for disclosing information that is prohibited or restricted (e.g. under the Official Secrets Act 1963), it is a defence for you to show that you reasonably believed you were making a protected disclosure at the time the alleged offence occurred.
If you make a protected disclosure, there is an obligation on the person who receives it to protect your identity. This obligation is subject to exceptions. For example, disclosure of identity is permitted where it is necessary for receipt, transmission or follow up of the report you made.
You can make a protected disclosure anonymously and you will still receive protection under the Protected Disclosures Act so long as you meet all the requirements. However, the person who receives an anonymous report may not be obliged to accept or follow up on it unless they are a prescribed person and they are not prohibited by law from doing so.
The Protected Disclosures Act provides that it is a criminal offence to penalise or threaten to penalise a person or someone who is connected to that person for making a protected disclosure.
If you have suffered penalisation by your employer wholly or mainly for having made a protected disclosure, you may be able to make a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission and you may also be able to bring a case to the Circuit Court for interim relief.
Normally you have six months to make a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission. This period can be extended for another six months if there is a reasonable cause for the delay.
An application for interim relief to the Circuit Court must be made within 21 days from the last time you were penalised.
For information on where you can seek advice on these and other issues, please see our resources page.