LegalAI[Space]

In-house and operations · Irish HR lead, in-house counsel, compliance manager

Refresh a whistleblowing policy for an Irish employer

An Irish employer has a whistleblowing policy written before the current statutory framework and a reporting channel that routes to a shared HR mailbox. The review checks the policy, the channel and the acknowledgement timetable against what is required.

First draft
A gap analysis against the current policy comes back from one run, ahead of the policy committee.

The problem

Whistleblowing compliance lives in the process rather than the policy document. Acknowledgement and feedback run to fixed periods, the channel has to protect the reporter's identity from people who have no need to know, and a shared mailbox that three HR advisers can read does not do that. Rewriting the policy without changing the channel fixes nothing.
  1. Step 01 of 05

    Open the matter in Ireland

    Jurisdiction is set to Ireland, with the current policy, the channel configuration note and the last two reporting logs uploaded.

    Matters · Project Halcyon · SPA warranties and disclosureOpen

    Project Halcyon: SPA warranties and disclosure

    Buy-side warranty review, disclosure analysis and cited due-diligence grid.

    Client
    Halcyon Bidco Ltd
    Reference
    WC-2026-0412
    Practice area
    Corporate / M&A
    Jurisdiction
    England and Wales
    Responsible partner
    E. Vance
    No conflict check on file.

    Chat, on this matter

    Compare warranties with the disclosure letter.

    Three high-priority exceptions require action: the unregistered charge, the change-of-control right and the tribunal claim.

    Send a message… (@ to mention tools)BalancedPrepare for
    1. 25 Aug

      Disclosure exceptions matrix

      Chat

    2. 21 Aug

      Disclosure exceptions matrix

      Run · completed · 560 credits

    3. 18 Aug

      Project Halcyon: Disclosure Letter

      Document · indexed

    4. 16 Aug

      Project Halcyon: Share Purchase Agreement

      Document · indexed

    5. 4 Aug

      Matter opened

      Opened

  2. Step 02 of 05

    Run the gap analysis

    Prepare for: Work-Stream Memo. Each requirement is stated, matched to the current policy wording or process and marked as met, partial or absent.

    Agents · Contract Agent · New runMatter: Northgate · senior associate hire

    Agent

    Jurisdiction

    Prepare for

    Deliver as

    Instruction

    What should the agent look for?

    Documents

    Drop a contract, or pick one from the matter

    Also on the matter

    • Offer_letter_v3.pdf2 pages
    • Staff_handbook_2025.docx61 pages
    • Board_minute_14_Aug.pdf3 pages
    Platform model · zero data retention · audit register on
  3. Step 03 of 05

    Read the channel finding

    The shared mailbox is the central problem: it does not restrict access to authorised persons and the logs show reports being forwarded to line managers.

    Agents · Contract Agent · Employment Contract Compliance ReviewCompleted
    6 items need your confirmation14 authorities · Where we looked

    Senior Associate Employment Contract: English Law Review

    Summary

    1. 1.

      Clause 9(c), non-competeHigh

      The 12-month prohibition on working for any law firm anywhere in the UK, Ireland or EU, in any capacity, is almost certainly wider than reasonably necessary and therefore unlikely to be enforceable.

      Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd [2019] UKSC 32
    2. 2.

      Clause 11, data and monitoringHigh

      Blanket contractual consent is not an adequate basis for general employment processing, special-category data or unrestricted monitoring.

      UK GDPR, Arts 6 and 9
    3. 3.

      Clause 4, holiday carry-overHigh

      The unconditional five-day cap conflicts with mandatory carry-over rights where sickness, statutory leave or employer failure prevents leave being taken.

      Working Time Regulations 1998, regs 13 to 13A
  4. Step 04 of 05

    Check the timetable

    Acknowledgement and feedback periods are set out as dates from receipt, and the logs show two reports where neither was met.

    Agents · Contract Agent · Employment Contract Compliance ReviewCompleted
    6 items need your confirmation14 authorities · Where we looked

    Senior Associate Employment Contract: English Law Review

    Summary

    1. 1.

      Clause 9(c), non-competeHigh

      The 12-month prohibition on working for any law firm anywhere in the UK, Ireland or EU, in any capacity, is almost certainly wider than reasonably necessary and therefore unlikely to be enforceable.

      Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd [2019] UKSC 32
    2. 2.

      Clause 11, data and monitoringHigh

      Blanket contractual consent is not an adequate basis for general employment processing, special-category data or unrestricted monitoring.

      UK GDPR, Arts 6 and 9
    3. 3.

      Clause 4, holiday carry-overHigh

      The unconditional five-day cap conflicts with mandatory carry-over rights where sickness, statutory leave or employer failure prevents leave being taken.

      Working Time Regulations 1998, regs 13 to 13A
  5. Step 05 of 05

    Take the rewrite and the process change

    Action items separate the policy rewrite from the channel change, because the second is the one that takes budget and time.

    Agents · Contract Agent · Employment Contract Compliance ReviewCompleted
    • Replace the UK/Ireland/EU non-compete with a 3 to 6 month restriction tied to competing corporate-law work.

    • Replace blanket data consent with a lawful-basis clause and a separate monitoring notice.

    • Remove the five-day carry-over cap and reference the statutory carry-over rules.

    • Narrow the client non-solicit to clients dealt with in the final 12 months.

    • Add an explicit working-time opt-out withdrawal mechanism.

    • Confirm the bonus clause states the discretion is exercised in good faith.

What comes back

A document, not a transcript.

  • Every statutory requirement matched to the current policy or process and marked met, partial or absent.
  • The reporting channel finding, evidenced from the logs rather than asserted from the configuration note.
  • An acknowledgement and feedback timetable expressed as days from receipt, with the two missed reports identified.
  • A split action list separating the document rewrite from the process and system change.

Authorities it checks

  • Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (Ireland)
  • Directive (EU) 2019/1937
Every source it may cite

What it does not do

  • It does not configure or procure a reporting channel.
  • It does not investigate any of the reports in the logs; it reads them for process evidence only.
  • It does not approve the policy, which remains a decision for the employer's own committee.

Run this on your own document

Free plan, two seats, no card.