Whistleblowing - Public Interest Disclosure for Employee

Whistleblowing is the more commonly used name for reports made which are intended to be protected under the legislation relating to public interest disclosures.

The protection afforded to employees is the ability to claim damages for detrimental treatment suffered because of raising a concern which amounts to a public interest disclosure or having the ability to claim automatic unfair dismissal with uncapped damages in circumstances where their employment may have been bought to an end where the main or principle reason for the same was the employee having had made a public interest disclosure.

In order for a disclosure to amount to a qualifying disclosure it needs to be made in the public interest and in circumstances where the person raising the concern reasonably believes that one or more of the following is either happening, happened or is likely to happen in the future;

1. Criminal offence;
2. The breach of a legal obligation;
3. A miscarriage of justice;
4. A danger to the health and safety of any individual;
5. Damage to the environment;
6. Deliberate attempt to conceal any of the above.

The protection is afforded to employees and workers under the employment rights and the public interest disclosure act. The disclosure should be made in good faith and not for personal profit or the benefit of the individual.

Since the introduction of the two year qualifying period in order to bring claims of unfair dismissal this type of claim has seen an increase at the employment tribunal as where an employee has had their employment terminated where they can assert that a main or principle reason for the termination of employment was due to raising a protective disclosure they are not required to have worked the two year qualifying period which would normally apply.

If your employment has been brought to an end or you feel you have suffered detrimental treatment because you have made a complaint which could amount to a protected disclosure you should speak to a member of the Biscoes Employment Team for assistance. Claims for unfair dismissal due to making a protected disclosure can give rise to uncapped damages although pleading the claims and obtaining evidence can be complicated and time frames for initiating claims short.