Whistle Blowing

Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998

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

What is protected?

To be protected, the employee must make a disclosure about one of the following grounds and have the belief that the ground 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. Specifically the disclosure must be made in good faith to either the employer or the person responsible for the particular area of concern.

Consequences of disclosure

If an employee is dismissed for making a disclosure, he/she can claim Automatic Unfair Dismissal. A year’s service is not required in this type of case and the issue of reasonableness will not be considered. However the claim will still 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 an 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.

Please note that the above information is for guidance only. For fully comprehensive and tailored advice on Whistleblowing and how it could apply to you, please contact the Employment Law Team today.