Whistleblowing Law and Practice
LW493
Assessment 2: Problem-Solving Question Assessment
Due Date: Friday 13 January 2023 at 5.00pm
Weighting: 70% (Please note that Part 1 and Part 2 are afforded equal weighting)
Word Limit: 4,000 words, excluding footnotes. There is no requirement to include a
ibliography. There is no discretion to go 10% (or even less) beyond the word limit. A 3%
penalty will apply if your submission exceeds the upper word limit. You need not write an
answer as long as the word limit. A cogent, polished, and thoughtful answer will earn a first,
even if under the word limit.
Submission: Your submission must be submitted on Turnitin. A Turnitin link will be posted
on the module’s Moodle website. You should upload your answer as a WORD file (that is, a
DOC or DOCX file). If you cannot save your file in that format, then upload your file as a RTF
file. If you cannot save your file in the RTF format, then upload your file as a PDF file. You
should upload your final draft—and only your final draft—at the Turnitin link. You should not
upload multiple drafts.
Referencing: The OSCOLA Ireland referencing style must be used. The OSCOLA referencing
guide and the OSCOLA Quick Referencing Guide are available on Moodle. Footnotes should
e used for the essay and not endnotes etc. (You will lose a flat 3 marks overall for failing
to comply with any part of this instruction).
Presentation: Answers must be typed in a Times New Roman font of 12 point for the main
ody of the text and 10 point for footnotes. For the main body of the text, line spacing of 1
and a half lines is required. Single spacing is acceptable for footnotes and indented quotes.
(You will lose a flat 3 marks overall for failing to comply with any part of this instruction).
Students will be marked on (amongst other things) presentation and the quality of citation and
eferencing. Make sure to use headings and sub-headings in your answer.
Penalties: Standard MU Law penalties apply in instances of ethical violation, plagiarism, late
submission of any coursework, and failure to attend class satisfactorily. Details of these items
are available to access on the ‘ALL LAW’ page on Moodle.
Instructions: Students must answer Part 1 and Part 2
Part 1
Thomas is a nurse in Old Age Care (OAC), a public nursing home. He was supplied to OAC
through Compassion Nursing Agency a week ago. On his first day, Thomas was invited to
attend his induction meeting. This meeting consisted of him receiving the staff handbook and
signing that he had received it. Thomas was instructed that he was to work on The Florence
Ward, which had twelve long-term residents with dementia. His primary duty was to administer
medication in the afternoon and evenings and the general care of the patients.
The first week that Thomas was working he noticed that on occasion when he came into work
in the morning, medication was left beside some of the patients’ beds and that there was no
supervised administration of the medication. He also became concerned when he noticed
uising on the upper arms of three of the patients. He had seen a colleague, Ann, pulling some
of the patients out of their beds one day when she was dressing them, but he did not approach
her as they had previously been in a relationship that had ended on bad terms.
That Friday, when Thomas was leaving work, he tried to speak to his line manager, Claire, to
explain to her some of the concerns that he had, however, he was told that she was at an off-
site meeting and that he could speak to her the following week. Thomas proceeded to leave
work and when he was on his way home, he noticed that Claire, Ann, and two other colleagues
who had left work earlier that afternoon were in a bar drinking.
When Thomas returned to work on Monday morning, he was told that he was being moved to
another ward and that his primary duty was to collect and clean the bedpans of all patients.
Thomas was very unhappy that his role had changed.
Part 1: With reference to relevant case law and the statutory provisions of the Protected
Disclosures Act 2014, as amended by the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022,
advise Thomas to whom he can raise his concerns, and the associated legal tests with each
disclosure channel.
Part 2
Thomas raised his concerns with Claire that day and she told him that she would look into them
and get back to him. Six weeks later Claire told Thomas that she had investigated the issues he
had raised but had identified no wrongdoing and that the matter was now closed. Thomas was
astounded that the matter was closed, as he had not been interviewed as part of the
investigation.
Since Thomas raised his concerns, he has noticed that Claire and Ann are absent from work
every Friday afternoon and on his way home he has sometimes seen them in the bar that he
passes. He has also noticed that there is a man drinking with them and he always sits beside
Ann. He is annoyed and hurt that Ann seems to be in a new relationship.
He is still working in the ward collecting and cleaning bedpans but when he is on his rounds,
he notices that medication is often on the bedside lockers of a number of patients.
Thomas decided to escalate his concerns, as he is dissatisfied with Claire’s response to them.
He approaches the prescribed person in order to make his disclosures.
Two weeks after raising his concerns with the prescribed person, Thomas was reading an article
in the Sunday Examiner about low standards of care in a crèche. Thomas decided to contact
the journalist working for the Sunday Examiner to tell them about his concerns with OAC. The
Sunday Examiner published an article on OAC and included a statement from Thomas,
although it was not attributed to him. The following statement was included in the article:
An insider, a male nurse who started working with OAC ten weeks ago, told the Sunday
Examiner that ‘As soon as I started working with OAC I became concerned about the
standard of care for the patients there. I constantly saw that medication was left beside
dementia patients’ beds and there was never any supervised administration of the
medication. There was also
uising on some of the patients, and I saw another nurse
pulling some of the patients out of their beds one day when she was dressing them. I
told OAC what I had seen but they never investigated anything that I told them,
especially that there was a nurse physically abusing the patients. Not only that, I saw
my boss and other members of staff out drinking when they were being paid to work.
This just isn’t right.’
When Tomas a
ived at work the day after the article was published, Claire called Thomas into
her office and told Thomas ‘You have
oken your confidentiality agreement with OAC. Your
services are no longer required by us. Please collect your belongings and leave the premises
immediately.’ A few days later, Compassion Nursing Agency received a letter from OAC
informing them that their agreement to provide nursing staff to OAC was terminated.
Part 2: With reference to relevant case law and the statutory provisions of the Protected
Disclosures Act 2014, as amended by the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022,
advise Thomas and Compassion Nursing Agency as to the legal remedies available to
them.
Points to note
Your answer must demonstrate significant awareness and understanding of the provisions of
the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, as amended by the Protected Disclosures (Amendment)
Act 2022 and relevant case law.
I expect generally to see the following in a good answer:
• An accurate understanding and knowledge of relevant law
• Clarity and precision in explanations
• Reference to relevant cases and legislation
• Relevance of response to the question
• Sufficient depth of analysis
• Appropriate application of the law to problems in question
In answering your question, remember that a good answer to a problem question should include
the following:
- Issue: What are the main issues in this situation? What is the dispute between the
parties, and which are the legal issues on which that dispute will turn? Remember,
part of your job in a problem question is to identify which are the difficult or
controversial issues, and to focus on these, rather than wasting too much time on
matters that are either of limited relevance or are straightforward and so do not
equire significant analysis.
- Law/Rule: What are the legal rules and principles that are relevant to the issue or
issues identified? State the relevant principles as clearly as possible, identifying any
points where the law is uncertain or ambiguous. You should also clearly indicate
the authorities (cases, statutes) supporting the relevant rules and principles.
- Application: How do these rules and principles apply to this case? Which facts are
most relevant, and how? Are there particular facts that make particular precedents
more relevant? How? To what extent do these precedents support one or another
conclusion? Can they be distinguished in this particular case? If there is more than
one way that the facts might be analysed, explain these, and indicate which
approach seems more convincing, and why.
- Conclusion: How, based on your analysis, is this case likely to be resolved? Which
party can expect to win if the dispute goes to court, and what remedy might they
expect to obtain? Are there particular steps that the law suggests the parties should
take at this stage?
-End-