The law regulating whistleblowing under the ‘Public Interest Disclosure Act’ (PIDA) is complex but it recognises that certain types of information about an employer and its operating practices should be disclosed without the person making the disclosure suffering any negative consequences for acting in the public interest. The subject matter of such disclaimers could include:
- A criminal offence being committed, such as fraud.
- The employer’s legal obligations not being complied with, such as discriminatory practices.
- Physical health and safety being put at risk, such as reporting safeguarding concerns about service users.
- Damage being caused to the environment, such as allowing leakage of chemicals into waterways.
A worker may also claim protection under the law if they believe actions have been taken to deliberately cover up any of the above.
If you ‘blow the whistle’ you are protected from dismissal and from your employer subjecting you to a detriment. If your employer dismisses you for blowing the whistle you will have an automatic unfair dismissal claim. If your employer subjects you to a detriment for blowing the whistle, you will have a detriment claim in the Employment Tribunal. A detriment includes a wide variety of actions which mean you are unfairly treated, such as a failure to promote you, award you a pay rise, unfairly discipline you.
Being sure to make disclosures in the right way
A number of criteria have to be met for whistleblower protection to be afforded by law, such as:
- Making a disclosure in good faith
- Reasonably believing the information in the disclosure to be true
- Taking all reasonable steps to disclose it to the right ‘prescribed person’
A disclosure may be made to someone other than your employer, but there are narrow limits on who can receive the relevant information, to ensure that you preserve your legal rights and protections.
An employer’s terms and conditions of employment or handbook/policies will usually lay down procedures for ‘blowing the whistle’, so an employee with any concerns should always be aware of the internal channels through which they must be raised in the first instance.
How can Gorvins help?
If you have concerns about issues at work and want to make a protected disclosure, or you have blow the whistle and been dismissed or treated unfairly as a result, then it is important to take legal advice to protect yourself and understand your rights. Gorvins can:
- Advise you how to make a protected disclosure properly.
- Advise you on the fairness of any subsequent dismissal or detriment.
- Help with drafting an appeal against dismissal or grievance relating to a detriment
- Advice on obtaining an enhanced compensation package under a settlement agreement.
- Advice on making a claim to an employment tribunal.
With extensive experience in advising on protected disclosures and related unfair dismissal/detriment claims, including for NHS workers, you can trust that you are in the best hands for achieving the desired outcome. Once we have all the relevant information from you, we can assess the best way forward for you and advise on how to best protect yourself.
Contact our employment lawyers today
To discuss your ‘whistleblowing’ concerns or to find out more information about how we can help, please contact our employment team today on 0161 930 5151 or send us an e-mail to employmentteam@gorvins.com.
Alternatively, you can contact us using our online form.
