Companies must treat protected disclosures with great care

A decision by the Labour Court last August shone a spotlight on the thorny subject of whistleblowing

An employee who can convince a judge that they were forced out of their job because they made a protected disclosure can obtain an injunction restraining their dismissal

When whistleblowing legislation was introduced in 2014, many employers feared it might be abused. Those concerns remain, but a decision by the Labour Court in August last year offered grounds for optimism.

In simple terms, the Protected Disclosures Act was designed to provide a high level of protection to an employee who makes a “protected disclosure” and is penalised by their employer as a result.

The protection provided by the legislation is extensive. For example, ...