Employees Whistleblowing

Where a concern is raised during the course of employment that person is entitled to make a protected disclosure (more commonly referred to as whistleblowing).

What might constitute a protected disclosure?

A protected disclosure is generally a disclosure of information to a particular person and/or a body and can relate to many things, however, there are certain requirements that must be met in order for the disclosure to satisfy the criteria of a “qualifying disclosure”.  There will be protection from being dismissed or being subject to a detriment where there are grounds to have made a protected disclosure.

What might a qualifying disclosure include?

A qualifying disclosure can include many things, for example, a failure to comply with a legal obligation, a health and safety issue or damage to the environment.

My employer has been treating me badly since I made a disclosure?

Unfortunately, an employee might be treated negatively following a disclosure, for example, being treated unreasonably, being demoted or dismissed.  Where an employee has been subjected to a detriment and it is believed to be in response to the disclosure, an employee could be entitled to take legal action.

I believe that my employer has dismissed me for whistleblowing?

The law will protect an employee where they have raised concerns about wrongdoing at work and believes that the decision to dismiss was connected. Where an employee can show that the main reason for their dismissal was that they raised concerns about wrongdoing at work, they may issue a claim of automatic unfair dismissal. There is no requirement for the employee to have a specified length of employment service and there is currently no cap on the amount of compensation that an employment tribunal may award.