Whistleblowing

Whistleblowing is the act of a person disclosing information about malpractice or misconduct that they witnessed while on the job.  The UK legislation refers to such information disclosure as a "protected disclosure."

The Public Interest Disclosure Act of 1998 ("the Act") makes it illegal for an employer to remove an employee solely because they made a protected disclosure.  It is also illegal to penalise any employee because they made a protected disclosure.

The Act provides protection against dismissal beginning on the first day of work. This means that you are not required to have worked for your employer for a minimum amount of time to be covered.

The disclosure must be of information that tends to show past, present, or likely future wrongdoing falling into one or more of the following categories:

• criminal offences
• failure to comply with a legal obligation.
• miscarriages of justice
• endangering someone’s health or safety.
• damage to the environment
• concealing wrongdoing in the above categories

You must reasonably believe that that the information tends to show one of the above failures and that the disclosure is in the public interest. Personal grievances are not usually covered by the Act.

It is advisable to:

• make your protected disclosure in writing, clearly setting out your concerns. Otherwise, it can be hard to evidence that it was made.
• think carefully about who to make the disclosure to e.g. is your line manager in the first instance the most appropriate person?
• review your employer’s whistleblowing policy (if they have one) before making the disclosure and follow the procedure it sets out.
• Whistleblowers can be subjected to side-lining, performance management and in more severe cases, disciplinary procedures or even dismissal.  Sometimes they are targeted and bullied by colleagues.
• Establishing that the detrimental treatment you have received is due to the disclosure you have made is often the main challenge in whistleblowing cases.
• Employers will often argue that an individual has been disciplined not because they blew the whistle, but because they have not been performing well, or have committed an act of misconduct. In short, they say it is for a reason other than your whistleblowing.

For any guidance on whistleblowing and to find out how we can help you, please contact our specialist team of Employment Lawyers on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form  and a member of our Team will be in touch.