Yemi worked in a Dublin office for several years, doing well in her role and building good relationships with her team. Over time, she noticed patterns of unfair treatment affecting colleagues from certain backgrounds. She watched as people were passed over for promotions, their ideas dismissed in meetings, and their work scrutinised more harshly than others. It troubled her. She knew something wasn't right, and she felt it was her responsibility to say something.
Following the proper channels, Yemi made an internal protected disclosure to her company's compliance team, detailing the discrimination practices she had witnessed. She expected the company to take her concerns seriously and investigate. Instead, things changed quickly — and not for the better. Colleagues who once chatted with her seemed distant. She was suddenly left out of team meetings and projects. Her responsibilities were quietly reduced. It was clear to her that she was being punished for speaking up.
Yemi didn't let this silence her. She sought legal advice and brought a claim for penalisation — the unfair treatment she faced for making her protected disclosure. The case went to tribunal, where the evidence clearly showed a direct link between her disclosure and the social exclusion and reduced responsibilities that followed. The tribunal upheld her claim and awarded her a significant sum, recognising both her loss of earnings and the real harm to her wellbeing caused by the company's retaliatory behaviour. Her case sent a powerful message: employers cannot punish workers for doing the right thing.
The Protected Disclosures Act 2014 protects workers who report serious wrongdoing, including discrimination, in the public interest. Once a protected disclosure is made, an employer must not penalise the worker. Penalisation includes dismissal, demotion, reduction of hours, social exclusion, or any other adverse treatment. If a worker suffers penalisation after making a protected disclosure, they can bring a claim to the tribunal, and the employer must prove the penalisation was not because of the disclosure. Awards can include compensation for loss of earnings, damage to reputation, and injury to feelings.
If you have been penalised for making a protected disclosure, you must bring your claim within a strict timeframe. Claims must be submitted to the Workplace Relations Commission within twelve months of the date of the penalisation. Missing this deadline means you lose your right to claim, regardless of the strength of your case. If multiple acts of penalisation occur over time, each act has its own twelve-month window. It is essential to act quickly and get legal advice as soon as you realise you are being treated unfairly after making a disclosure.
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