Two-thirds of organisations in Ireland still have no channels in place to allow whistleblowers to make secure disclosures about wrongdoing in their places of work. That’s despite impending legislation that will require them.
A survey by law firm Mason Hayes & Curran of human resources professionals found that 37pc of respondents have experience of whistleblowing in their organisations within the past five years.
Despite most not having a special channel in place for the making of protected disclosures, 83pc of respondents do have a workplace policy in relation to such disclosures.
While employers in the public sector are already required to have a policy or process in place for whistleblowers, private sector employers are not.
However, that will change under new legislation that’s being introduced.
The Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill was published last February and is expected to become law before the Dáil’s summer recess. It will transpose the EU Whistleblowing Directive into law. It will also extend the scope of the legislation to provide protection for volunteers, board members and job applicants.
Private sector organisations with 50 or more employees will be required to establish formal channels and procedures for their employees to make protected disclosures. This will be monitored and enforced by the Inspectorate of the Workplace Relations Commission.
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