Whistleblowing

Whistleblowing

Workers who make 'protected disclosures' (colloquially referred to as ‘whistleblowing’) are protected from dismissal, selection for redundancy and from being subjected to a detriment, such as the refusal of a pay increase or promotion or other forms of victimisation, under provisions inserted into the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA 1998), predominantly in ERA 1996, Pt IVA (sections 43A to 43L).

This legislation provides for a wide category of 'qualifying disclosures' relating to types of malpractice, and stipulates that to be a 'protected disclosure' the employee must make the disclosure in the accepted way. Whistleblowing complaints are dealt with by the employment tribunals. Whistleblowing represents an exception to an employee's normal duty of confidentiality.

Protected disclosure

Any whistleblowing claim must have as its foundation a 'protected disclosure'. This is:

•
a disclosure of information
•
which the worker reasonably believes is made in the public interest and tends to show
•
one or more of certain types of wrongdoing including criminal offences, failing to comply with legal obligations, miscarriages of justice, endangerment of health or safety, damage

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