Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2021 to commence on 1st January 2023!
October 2022The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform yesterday (12th October 2022) signed the commencement order for the
Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022 (the “Amendment Act”) confirming on 1st January 2023 the Amendment Act will commence in its entirety.
By 1st January 2023, the Amendment Act will have the following effect: - All organisations with 250 or more employees will be required to establish formal internal reporting channels for employees to report concerns about wrongdoing in the workplace.
- The channels and procedures shall provide for acknowledgement of reports by a designated impartial person, within 7 days, diligent follow-up of the reports received, the provision of feedback to the reporting person within 3 months and communication of the final outcome of any investigations triggered by the report.
- From 17th December 2023, this obligation will be imposed on all private sector employers with 50 or more employees.
- Presently (under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014), employees, former employees, trainers, independent contractors and agency workers are protected. The Amendment Act, however, extends the scope of the protected disclosures regime to cover volunteers, unpaid trainees, board members, shareholders, members of administrative, management or supervisory bodies and job applicants (where information on a relevant wrongdoing is acquired during the recruitment process or during pre-contractual negotiations).
- A new Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner will be established in the Office of the Ombudsman to support the operation of the new legislation. Mr Ger Deering, the current Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, will be the first Protected Disclosures Commissioner.
For greater insight on how the new Amendment Act may impact your firm, please see our detailed August Blog Post below or do not hesitate to contact us at
info@regsol.ie RegSol - Blog (Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2021)