Whistleblowing claims are common in employment tribunal proceedings. One reason for this is that an award of damages in a successful whistleblowing claim is not capped in the same way as damages for unfair dismissal. In addition, there is no minimum period of service required in order to bring a claim. All workers are protected by the whisteblowing provisions including employees workers and members of LLP’s. The whistleblowing provisions protect reports about: criminal offences, e.g. Fraud; health and safety matters, danger, or risk to an individual; actual damage to the environment, a miscarriage of justice, or if the company is breaking the law, e.g. doesn’t have the right insurance or if you believe someone is covering up wrongdoing. Personal grievances (e.g. bullying, harassment, discrimination, breach of contract) aren’t covered by whistleblowing law, unless the particular case is in the public interest, which if a number of workers are affected it may be. Workers are protected from suffering a detriment, including being dismissed for having made a protected disclosure. It is essential to have proper procures in place to allow disclosures to be made and to protect those who make such reports to minimise risk of such a complaint being made. If you are concerned that you are being treated unfairly because you made a disclosure, we can help.
