WRC rejects childcare worker’s protected-disclosure complaint

The Workplace Relations Commission found that Dolphins Early Education And Childcare Centre did not put Emma Daly on garden leave because she said she would report a child-safety concern to Tusla. The decision, dated 15 July 2024, said the garden leave followed a breakdown in relations and concerns about Daly’s behaviour. Daly, a childcare practitioner, said she witnessed a colleague push a child and reported the concern to management. After being told no further action would be taken, she said she would raise it with Tusla. The adjudication officer found that garden leave was a detriment, but concluded it was unrelated to the threatened report. The protected-disclosure complaint was not well founded.