Whistleblowing

Workers can ‘blow the whistle’ on their employers by reporting certain types of wrongdoing. The wrongdoing you witness - usually at work - and disclose must be ‘'in the public interest'. This means it must affect others, for example the general public.

Personal grievances (for example bullying, harassment or discrimination) are not usually covered by whistleblowing law.

Disclosing that you have witnessed wrongdoing us formally known as ‘making a disclosure in the public interest’. If a worker blows the whistle, they have the right not to be dismissed or otherwise penalised as a result – they are protected by the law.

It's important to understand that there isn’t a general whistleblowing protection in legislation: there are specific definitions of what counts and what doesn’t, and what steps a potential whistleblower would need to take to qualify for the protections of the law.

Whistleblower protections in law

The relevant legislation related to whistleblowing appears in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA), which inserted various new sections into the Employment Rights Act 1996.

There were several scandals and disasters in the 1980s and 1990s – such as a collision between several trains, and the collapse of a bank due to mass fraud - that might have been prevented had workers felt safe enough to come forwards and blow the whistle. The need to ensure workers could come forward safely to disclose wrongdoing such as illegal, dangerous or corrupt practices resulted in the Public Interest Disclosure Act.

Who is protected by the legislation?

Workers are protected – not only employees but also contract workers, trainees, consultants, and agency workers amongst others. Some people are specifically excluded, such as volunteers.

What counts as a ‘protected disclosure’?

Raising that you believe any of the following wrongdoing has occurred will count as whistleblowing:

• A criminal offence, for example fraud
• Someone’s health and safety is in danger
• Risk or actual damage to the environment
• A miscarriage of justice (when a grossly unfair outcome results from a civil or a criminal judicial proceeding)
• The company is breaking the law, for example does not have the right insurance
• You believe someone is covering up wrongdoing

The process for whistleblowing

The identity of the person to whom the worker makes a disclosure and the circumstances in which they make the disclosure will determine whether that worker is protected under the legislation. Usually – though not always – the disclosure is made to the employer and the law is drafted to encourage workers to make the disclosure internally.

Your employer may have a whistleblowing policy that tells you what to expect if you report your concern to them. However, you can still report your concern to them even if they do not have a policy.

There are other options if you don’t want to report your concern to your employer. For example you can speak to your trade union rep if you are a member of a union, get legal advice from a lawyer, or tell a specific person or body. There is a list of who to approach here.

If you tell a prescribed person or body, it must be one that deals with the issue you’re raising, for example a disclosure about wrongdoing in a care home can be made to the Care Quality Commission.