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Director’s Duties under the Companies Act 2014
By Sinéad Floody, 10th July 2015 (Updated 4th August 2020)
The Companies Act 2014 introduced general guidelines for company directors. These Irish company director duties are to be abided by when making the decision to run a company.
Before the introduction of the Companies Act 2014 in 2015, Directors of Irish companies had to ensure they adhered to the duties imposed on them by both common law and statutory requirements. However, the updated legislation has codified express duties which enforce the notion that the Directors owe a duty to the Company and not its shareholders. Directors’ duties are imposed upon shadow Directors as well as de facto Directors. Rules regarding Directors’ loans have also been reformed under the new legislation and is briefly cited at the foot of this blog.
Old Fiduciary Regulations
The general meaning of fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with another person or in this case, the company and its members. The old law focused predominantly on the following three fiduciary duties:
- To act not only in line with the objects of the company but with proper purpose
- A duty not to fetter their discretion
- A duty to ensure no conflict occurs between personal interests & interests of the company
New Fiduciary Regulations
The Companies Act 2014 has paid tribute to the old fiduciary duties in the introduction of a new eight-duty code set out in section 227 and contextualised by section 228 of the Companies Act 2014 and is based on certain common law rules and equitable principles. The new Irish company director duties include:
- To act in good faith and best interests of the company.
- To act in accordance with company constitution and exercise powers only for lawful purposes. This was a ready-existing common law duty and is especially relevant to Designated Activity Companies.
- Not to misuse the company’s property, information or opportunities – unless expressly provided for in constitution approved by special resolution. This duty reflects the common law position that a Director is similar to a trustee in that he is controlling the property owned by someone else. This duty also refers to the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information to third parties.
- Not to fetter independent judgment – unless provided for in constitution or conveyed by way of special resolution
- To avoid conflicts of interests – this duty precludes the company entering into a contract with a Director and can be excluded via express statement in constitution
- To exercise care, skill and diligence – the courts will test on the basis of the “reasonable person (who is a Director)”.
- Have regard to members’ interests – manifestation to act in best interests of the company because the company includes its members as a whole.
- To act honestly & responsibly – this duty was strongly recommended in the Report on the General Scheme of the Companies Consolidation & Reform bill in 2007.
Category Offences
Introduced in the New Companies Act is the categorisation of offences which have been simplified and ranked on a scale from 1 to 4 for breaching company law. Depending on the severity, directors found guilty of breaching the companies act can be liable to punishments that will range from €5,000 – €500,000 in fines or a maximum jail sentence of 10 years.
Category 1: If you are found guilty of breaching company law which falls under category 1, it can result in a fine of up to €500,000 and/or a maximum 10 years imprisonment.
Category 2: If you are found guilty of breaching company law which falls under category 2, it can result in a fine up to €50,000 and/or a maximum 5 years imprisonment.
Category 3: If you are found guilty of breaching company law which falls under category 3, it can result in a Class “A” fine and/or a maximum of 6 months imprisonment.
Category 4: If you are found guilty of breaching company law which falls under category 4, it can result in a Class “A” fine.
Note: A Class “A” fine falls under the Fines Act 2010 which is a sum of up to €5,000.
Directors’ Loans
If a Director takes a loan from a company unless otherwise stated in writing it will be presumed that the loan is payable on demand and for any period before repayment, the amount has borne interest at the appropriate rate.
On the other hand, if a Director lends money to a company and the terms of which are not expressed in writing, it is presumed that the matter was not a loan. If it has been proven that the transaction was in fact a loan but the rate of interest was unclear, the courts will assume there was no interest incurred. If the security on the loan was unclear, it will be presumed that there was no security and it will be considered to have the least precedence over other debts, if the priority of the repayment is unclear.
If you would like more information on Irish company Director duties, please do not hesitate to contact us +353 1 6461625 or alternatively you can complete our contact form and a representative will be in contact as soon as possible.
Disclaimer This article is for guidance purposes only. It does not constitute legal or professional advice. No liability is accepted by Company Bureau for any action taken or not taken in reliance on the information set out in this article. Professional or legal advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from any action as a result of this article. Any and all information is subject to change.
