Under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, it was only Irish public bodies who were in scope and that were required to put in place a Protected Disclosures policy and internal whistleblowing channel.
That now changes with the 2022 amendment to the Act which comes into force on 1st Jan 2023 for some employers and for other employers on 17th Dec 2023. Under the new amendment, these requirements extend to all public and private sector organisations, as well as not-for-profit entities, but with the following qualifications.
Over 250 employees
- Employers with more than 250 employees are required to have the required policy and internal whistleblowing channel in place by 1 January 2023
50 to 249 employees
- Employers with a staff of between 50 and 249 have until 17 December 2023 to do so
Specific Sectors
- However, employers in certain sectors of industry will not benefit from the 250-employee or the 50-employee threshold as they already fall under existing EU legislation that requires them to have such procedures in place and include employers in the following areas:
- This includes the following sectors and affects all organisations in these sectors irrespective of employee numbers from 1st Jan 2023:
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- Financial Services
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- Products and Markets
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- Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing
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- Transport safety
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- Protection of the environment
Next Steps
If you are an employer and have any questions, please contact your CollierBroderick HR Advisor, call us on 01 8666426, contact us, or email us on enquiries@collierbroderick.
