Whistleblowing and the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 protects an employee from being dismissed or victimised by their employer for making a disclosure that is protected under the act.

To be protected under the act the employee must make a disclosure about one of the following and be of the belief that one of the following has occurred or could be occurring in the future: -

• A criminal offence
• Failure to comply with a legal obligation
• A miscarriage of justice
• The safety or health of another individual being compromised
• Danger to the environment

The disclosure must also be made in the correct manner to the correct person.  For example the disclosure must be made in good faith to either the employer or the person responsible for the particular area of concern.

If an employee is dismissed for making a disclosure, he/she can claim for unfair dismissal. A year’s service is not required and the if the employee succeeds in the claim it will be classed as an automatic unfair dismissal, which means the issue of reasonableness will not be considered (see Unfair Dismissal above). The claim will need to be submitted within three months minus one day of the dismissal date.

If an employee is victimised (e.g. denied training opportunities, demoted, denied promotion) because he/she made a disclosure, then a claim can be made to the Employment Tribunal for suffering a detriment. The claim will again need to be submitted within three months minus one day from the date of the detriment.

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