Ger Deering

The Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner sends reports it receives of wrongdoing in the workplace (sometimes called ‘whistleblowing’) to the organisation best placed to follow-up on the report, such as a regulator for that area.

The Protected Disclosures Commissioner received 262 reports in 2024 from workers and others alleging wrongdoing in the workplace – slightly down on the 2023 figure of 283, the office’s first year in operation.

During 2024 it sent 247 of the reports to organisations that were best placed to deal with the allegations, with the Commissioner’s Office dealing with nine of the reports itself.

Mr Deering’s Office also deals with a report of workplace-wrongdoing if there is no appropriate organisation to deal with it.

Speaking on the publication of his annual report for 2024 the commissioner said: “The protected disclosures regime is complex and can be difficult for people to navigate. My Office assists people in finding the most appropriate place to report an allegation of wrongdoing in the workplace.”

Mr Deering, who is also Ombudsman and Information Commissioner, added: “Those who call out real wrongdoing must be protected. It is also essential that legitimate reports are correctly followed up and that the focus is on the wrongdoing - not the person who reported it.”