The first reported injunction application for interim relief under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 has been rejected by the Circuit Court.
An employee alleged he had been unfairly dismissed for making “protected disclosures” within the meaning of the 2014 Act in respect of his employer’s improper use of funds and health and safety issues.
The 2014 Act permits an employee, who claims to have been dismissed wholly or mainly for having made a protected disclosure(s), to apply to the Circuit Court for interim relief pending the hearing of their unfair dismissal case. This interim relief can take the form of the employee being reinstated or re-engaged by the employer or continuing to be paid until the unfair dismissal case is heard in full.
In this case, the Court rejected the employee’s application for interim relief. It found that, although the intentions of the employee were sincere, he had not shown that the disclosures made were protected disclosures, and therefore he could not satisfy the test under the 2014 Act.
Contributed by Aisling Butler and Nuala Clayton.
