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Protection of whistleblowers

You are protected under the law if you reveal to those in positions of authority, or 'blow the whistle on' suspected malpractice at work.

Public interest and the law

It is in the public interest that the law protects whistleblowers so that they can speak out if they find malpractice in an organisation. Blowing the whistle is more formally known as 'making a disclosure in the public interest' so it is important you can do so knowing that you are protected from losing your job and/or being victimised as a result of what you have uncovered and made public.

Who is protected?

As a whistleblower you're protected from victimisation if you are:

  • a worker
  • revealing information of the right type by making what is known as a 'qualifying disclosure'
  • revealing it to the right person, and in the right way making it a 'protected disclosure'

It is important to note that 'worker' has a special and wide meaning for these protections. As well as employees it includes the self-employed, agency workers and people who aren't employed but are in training with employers.

Where does the protection apply?

Qualifying disclosures

To be protected, you need to reasonably believe that malpractice in the workplace is happening, has happened or will happen. You also need to make your disclosure in the right way. The types of malpractice the law covers are:

  • criminal offences
  • failure to comply with a legal obligation
  • miscarriages of justice
  • threats to people's health and safety
  • damage to the environment

The law also covers a deliberate attempt to cover-up any of these. It is important to remember, however, that you may not be protected if you break another law in blowing the whistle. For example, if you've signed the Official Secrets Act as part of your employment contract.

Protected disclosures

For your disclosure to be protected by the law, you must make it to the right person and in the right way. If you make a qualifying disclosure in good faith to your employer, or through procedures which your employer has authorised, the law protects you.

You can also complain to the person who is responsible for the area that is of concern to you. For example, you might raise concerns about health and safety with your health and safety representative.

In order for a disclosure to a 'prescribed person' to be protected, you must fulfil the following requirements:

  • make the disclosure in good faith
  • reasonably believe that the information is substantially true
  • reasonably believe you are making the disclosure to the right 'prescribed person'

In certain circumstances you can also make disclosures to others. These include:

  • your legal adviser
  • a government minister, if you're a public sector employee
  • more generally (to a professional standards body, for example, or in extreme circumstances, the media)

However, there are different sets of rules as to when each of these disclosures will be protected. For example, the rules covering disclosures 'more generally' are extremely strict, among other things, you must not be acting for personal gain.

If you are unsure, you should always get professional advice before going ahead and make a disclosure. You should remember that anything you say to a legal adviser in order to get advice is automatically protected.

What to do next?

If you want to complain about malpractice at work you should follow any procedure set down by your employer (this will often be found in your employer's grievance procedure). If you belong to a trade union, you can get advice from your union representative. If you're complaining about a health and safety issue, you can speak to your safety representative if you have one.

What if you’re sacked for whistleblowing?

If you’re an employee and you are sacked for complaining about malpractice at work, you can make a claim for unfair dismissal. You do not need to have the normal one year’s service to do this.

If you're not an employee, but are covered by the whistleblowing protections and have a contract that's terminated for whistleblowing; you can take your case to an Industrial Tribunal and claim that you have suffered 'detrimental treatment'.

If you're covered by the whistleblowing protections and you've been victimised (for example, demoted, been denied training opportunities or promotion) for whistleblowing you can take your case to an Industrial Tribunal, claiming that you have suffered 'detrimental treatment'.

Where can you get help?

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) offers free, confidential and impartial advice on all employment rights issues. You can contact the LRA on 028 9032 1442 from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday.

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