Protected Disclosures Act 2014

12

Other protection of employees from penalisation for having made protected disclosure

12. (1) An employer shall not penalise or threaten penalisation against an employee, or cause or permit any other person to penalise or threaten penalisation against an employee, for having made a protected disclosure.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the dismissal of an employee to whom section 6(2)(ba) of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 applies.

(3) Schedule 2 shall have effect in relation to an alleged contravention of subsection (1) .

(4) Subsection (3) does not apply in relation to the penalisation of an employee if the employee is within paragraph (d) of section 2(1) of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977.

(5) Any person who, on examination authorised under paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 2, wilfully makes any material statement which the person knows to be false or does not believe to be true commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.

(6) A person to whom a notice under paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 2 has been given and who refuses or wilfully neglects to attend in accordance with the notice or who, having so attended, refuses to give evidence or refuses or wilfully fails to produce any document to which the notice relates commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine.

(7) A document purporting to be signed by the chairperson or a deputy chairperson of the Labour Court stating that—

(a) a person named in the document was, by a notice under paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 2, required to attend before the Labour Court on a day and at a time and place specified in the document, to give evidence or produce a document, or both, and

(b) a sitting of the Labour Court was held on that day and at that time and place, and the person did not attend before the Labour Court pursuant to the notice or, having so attended, refused to give evidence or refused or wilfully failed to produce the document, shall, in a prosecution of the person for an offence under subsection (6), be evidence of the matters so stated without further proof unless the contrary is shown.

F42[(7A) An employee who claims to have suffered penalisation wholly or mainly for having made a protected disclosure may apply to the Circuit Court for interim relief within 21 days immediately following the date of the last instance of penalisation or such longer period as the Court may allow.

(7B) In this section and Schedule 2, references to "employee" include a worker referred to in paragraphs (d), (g) and (h) of the definition of "worker" in section 3(1).

(7C) In any proceedings by an employee under the Workplace Relations Act 2015 in respect of an alleged contravention of subsection (1), the penalisation shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section, to have been as a result of the employee having made a protected disclosure, unless the employer proves that the act or omission concerned was based on duly justified grounds.]

(8) Summary proceedings for an offence under subsection (5) or (6) may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

(9) F43[…]

(10) F43[…]

Annotations

Amendments:

F42

Inserted (1.01.2023) by Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022 (27/2022), s. 21, S.I. No. 510 of 2022.

F43

Repealed (1.01.2023) by Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022 (27/2022), s. 3(c), S.I. No. 510 of 2022, art. 2.

Editorial Notes:

E11

Redress and appeal procedures for purposes of subs. (1) provided (1.10.2015) by Workplace Relations Act 2015 (16/2015), ss. 41 and 44 and sch. 5 part 1 item 28, sch. 6 part 1 item 34 and sch. 6 part 2 item 34, S.I. No. 410 of 2015.

E12

Subs. (1) included in definitions of “employment enactment” and “relevant enactment” (1.08.2015) by Workplace Relations Act 2015 (16/2015), s. 2 and sch. 1 part 2 item 18, S.I. No. 338 of 2015, with the following effects:

• Authorised officers or inspectors under employment enactments deemed to be appointed under Workplace Relations Act 2015 (16/2015), s. 26(2) and subject to termination under s. 26(4).

• Powers of inspectors for purposes of relevant enactments defined in Workplace Relations Act 2015 (16/2015), s. 27.

• Workplace Relations Commission, an inspector or an adjudication officer authorised to disclose employer’s registered number or employee’s PPSN to enable Labour Court to perform functions under relevant enactments by Workplace Relations Act 2015 (16/2015) s. 31(5).

• Power of Workplace Relations Commission and official body to disclose information to each other concerning the commission of offence under relevant enactment provided by Workplace Relations Act 2015 (16/2015), s. 32.

• Power of Workplace Relations Commission and contracting authority to disclose information to each other concerning the commission of offence under employment enactment/ relevant enactment provided by Workplace Relations Act 2015 (16/2015), s. 33.

• Powers of Minister to prosecute under relevant enactments transferred to Workplace Relations Commission and references construed by Workplace Relations Act 2015 (16/2015), s. 37.

• Functions of EAT to hear claims under employment enactments transferred to Workplace Relations Commission and references to EAT construed by Workplace Relations Act 2015 (16/2015) s. 66(1), (2), not commenced as of date of revision.