The Workplace Relations Commission has ordered Roche Products (Ireland) Limited to pay Bruno Seigle - Murandi €8,000 after finding his protected disclosures complaint well founded. The decision was dated 1 November 2023.
Seigle - Murandi worked as Roche’s pharmacovigilance manager. In May 2019, he raised concerns that some marketing materials looked like patient information but were less explicit about risks. Roche said it supported his initial report and disputed his account of later events.
The adjudicator found that Seigle - Murandi’s July 2020 email to the Health Products Regulatory Authority was a protected disclosure. Roche took it into account in a performance review that affected his 2021 bonus, and the adjudicator found the resulting bonus reduction was penalisation. The decision also recognised that other performance concerns, including communication skills, contributed to the review.
His other allegations were rejected: the adjudicator found that the end of his housing benefit and his suspension were not caused by protected disclosures. The award related to the bonus reduction.