Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022

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Chapter 2

Internal and external reporting channels and follow-up

Amendment of section 6 of Principal Act

8. Section 6 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (2):

“(3) Subject to subsections (5) to (8), for the purposes of enabling the making of reports, an employer with 50 or more employees shall, in accordance with this section and section 6A, establish, maintain and operate internal reporting channels and procedures for the making of such reports and for follow-up (in this Act referred to as ‘internal reporting channels and procedures’).

(4) The threshold of 50 employees provided for by subsection (3) shall not apply where the employer—

(a) is a public body, or

(b) falls within the scope of the Union acts referred to in Parts I.B and II of the Annex.

(5) Subsection (3) shall not come into effect for employers, other than public bodies and entities who fall within the scope of the Union acts referred to in Parts I.B and II of the Annex, with not less than 50 but not more than 249 employees until 17 December 2023.

(6) (a) Following the carrying out, by or on behalf of the Minister, of an appropriate risk assessment taking into account the activities of the class or classes of employers concerned and the ensuing level of risk for, in particular, the environment and public health, the Minister may, by order, provide that subsection (3) shall apply to such class or classes of employers with less than 50 employees as the Minister may specify in such order.

(b) Before making an order under this subsection, the Minister shall publish or cause to be published on a website maintained by or on behalf of the Minister and which is accessible to the public—

(i) a copy of the proposed order,

(ii) a copy of the risk assessment referred to in paragraph (a), and

(iii) a notice—

(I) stating that the Minister intends to make the proposed order,

(II) stating where, on the website concerned, the documents referred to in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) can be accessed,

(III) inviting the making, during the period specified by the Minister for this purpose, of submissions to the Minister in relation to the proposed order, and

(IV) stating the date of publication of the notice,

and having considered any submissions made in response to the invitation referred to in clause (III) may make the order, with or without amendment.

(c) Submissions made under paragraph (b)(iii)(III) shall be published or caused to be published by the Minister on a website maintained by or on behalf of the Minister and which is accessible to the public.

(d) The Minister shall notify the Commission of the European Union of the making, amendment or revocation of an order under this subsection, and the notification shall include the reasons for making, amending or revoking the order and the criteria used in carrying out the risk assessment referred to in paragraph (a).

(7) (a) The Minister may by regulations provide that the internal reporting channels and procedures required to be established, maintained and operated by employers to whom subsection (3) applies shall also enable the making of reports by other persons or such class or classes of other persons, as the Minister may prescribe, referred to in points (b), (c) and (d) of Article 4.1 and Article 4.2 of the Directive, who are in contact with the entity concerned in the context of their work-related activities.

(b) Where regulations are made under paragraph (a), this section shall apply, with any necessary modifications, to such other persons or class or classes of such other persons referred to in paragraph (a) as may be so prescribed, as if a reference in this section to employees were a reference to such other persons or class or classes of such other persons so prescribed.

(8) The Minister may, for the purpose of the calculation of the number of employees an employer has for the purposes of the application of this section, by regulation, provide for the methods to be applied by such class or classes of employers and in respect of such class or classes of employees as may be prescribed.

(9) Internal reporting channels and procedures may be—

(a) operated internally by a person or department designated for that purpose by an employer, or

(b) provided externally by a third party authorised in that behalf by an employer.

(10) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), employers with less than 250 employees (including employers in respect of whom an order has been made under subsection (6)) may share resources as regards the receipt of reports under this section and any investigation to be carried out as part of the process of follow-up.

(b) This subsection shall apply without prejudice to the obligations imposed on an employer to—

(i) maintain confidentiality in accordance with section 16,

(ii) diligently follow-up in accordance with section 6A(1)(d), and

(iii) provide feedback in accordance with section 6A(1)(e) and (f).

(11) Subject to subsection (12), section 6A shall apply to a report made to an employer.

(12) Where—

(a) a worker, who is or was an employee of a public body, makes a disclosure of relevant information to the public body, in the manner specified in this section, before the commencement of section 8 of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022, and

(b) the public body—

(i) has established procedures under section 21 (being that section as it stood before the commencement of section 28 of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022), and

(ii) has not completed its consideration of such disclosure in accordance with those procedures before the commencement of the said section 8 ,

then, where the worker so requests in writing, the public body shall, no later than 3 months after the date of such request, provide information to the worker on any actions taken or to be taken by that public body in relation to the relevant information concerned.”.