As published in the Journal, the Public Expenditure Minister says that the new Whistleblowers Legislation is not designed to frighten employers, it is designed empower workers. Introducing the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013 into the Dáil last night, Brendan Howlin called the bill a “catalyst to change”.
“I see the introduction of such protections as a catalyst for a change which views openness and transparency as an asset rather than a liability, a change towards a culture that values the contribution of employees and citizens and recognises those contributions as positive, effective tools in working towards the achievement of the common good rather than as something to be limited or destroyed. Good employers have nothing to fear from their employees reporting things that are going wrong. The ideal therefore is to encourage employers to adopt a culture that readily accepts reports of wrongdoing from its workers.”
Employers will need to take note of this bill as once enacted an employer will need to ensure there is a clear and definitive 'Whistleblowing' policy in their employee handbook in order to ensure that they are advocating the route an employee can take and can act to limit employer liability in certain cases.
The legislation should be enacted relatively soon in light of the recent PAC claims.
