Those who blow the whistle can often find themselves being victimised or dismissed for doing so. The Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) 1998 exists to protect employees and workers who disclose wrongdoing by their employer in specific circumstances.
We are acutely aware that blowing the whistle or even thinking of doing so can be a hard decision to make. We would recommend that advice is sought prior to whistleblowing in order to be afforded protection under the legislation. We can advise on what a ‘qualifying disclosure’ is, when such disclosure is protected and how to go about making such a disclosure.
The wrongdoing that an employee or worker discloses must be in the public interest and that the employee or worker must reasonably believe that the disclosure tends to show past, present or likely future wrongdoing falling into one or more of the following categories:
- criminal offences (for example fraud)
- failure to comply with an obligation set out in law
- miscarriages of justice
- endangering of someone’s health and safety
- damage to the environment
- covering up wrongdoing in the above categories
You may find yourself in the situation that you are a whistleblower and have either suffered a detriment for doing so or been dismissed. The dismissal of an employee will be automatically unfair if the reason or principal reason, for their dismissal is that they have made a ‘protected disclosure’.
Workers are protected from being subjected to any detriment on the ground that they have made a ‘protected disclosure’.
There is no financial cap on compensation in whistleblowing claims and no requirement for a minimum period of service.
If you are thinking of blowing the whistle on your employer, contact our expert employment law team who are specialists in whistleblower law, with offices in Brentwood, Upminster, Hornchurch, Chelmsford, Leigh-On-Sea and Canary Wharf, London.
