Whistleblowing
A protected disclosure (commonly referred to as whistleblowing) is when an employee or worker raises concerns about wrongdoing within their organisation. Whistleblowing is often confused with raising a grievance, but the two are very different and it is vital that employers can distinguish between them.
A grievance usually relates to a personal concern (for example, unfair treatment affecting one individual), whereas whistleblowing involves matters that are in the public interest and have wider implications.
What Counts as a Protected Disclosure?
To qualify for whistleblowing protection, the individual must reasonably believe that they are reporting wrongdoing that is in the public interest. This could include information about:
- A criminal offence
- A breach of a legal obligation
- A miscarriage of justice
- A danger to health and safety
- Damage to the environment
- A deliberate attempt to conceal wrongdoing relating to any of the above
The concern may relate to something happening now, something that has already happened, or something that is likely to happen in the future.
Whistleblower Protection
If someone makes a valid protected disclosure:
- They are legally protected from being dismissed, and
- They must not be subjected to detriment, such as bullying, disciplinary action, being denied opportunities, or being treated unfairly.
If an employee is dismissed because they blew the whistle, the dismissal is considered automatically unfair – meaning there is no minimum length of service required to bring a claim.
These protections apply whether the disclosure is made internally or, in certain circumstances, to an external prescribed body.
Who Should a Disclosure Be Made To?
In most cases, concerns should be raised with the employer first, usually through:
- The line manager
- HR team
- An internal whistleblowing or speak-up process
If internal reporting is not possible or appropriate, disclosures can be made directly to a prescribed person or body.
Examples include regulators such as the Health and Safety Executive, Financial Conduct Authority, or Care Quality Commission.
A full list of prescribed bodies can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/blowing-the-whistle-list-of-prescribed-people-and-bodies–2
How We Support Employers
We help employers to:
- Understand their duties under whistleblowing legislation
- Ensure internal reporting systems are clear, accessible and well-communicated
- Respond appropriately and sensitively to disclosures
- Conduct investigations fairly and confidentially
- Avoid treating disclosures as grievances when wider issues are raised
- Reduce the risk of retaliation, complaints and Tribunal claims
We also assist in drafting or updating Whistleblowing Policies that foster a culture of transparency and trust.
How We Support Employees and Workers
If you believe you have blown the whistle – or are considering doing so – we can help you to:
- Understand whether your disclosure is likely to be protected
- Raise concerns in a way that maximises legal protection
- Identify whether any treatment you have experienced may amount to detriment, discrimination or unfair dismissal
- Bring or defend claims in the Employment Tribunal if necessary
We provide confidential, supportive advice to help you take the right next step.
Get in Touch
If you are dealing with a whistleblowing issue – whether as an employer or an employee – we can help you navigate the situation safely and lawfully.
Contact us at enquiries@thrivelaw.co.uk to speak with one of our employment law specialists.
We are here to support you with clarity, confidence and care.
FAQs
Whistleblowing is making a disclosure about wrongdoing in the public interest. Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, a worker has legal protection when they disclose information that they reasonably believe tends to show: a criminal offence, failure to comply with a legal obligation, a miscarriage of justice, a risk to health and safety, damage to the environment, or deliberate concealment of any of these. The belief needs to be reasonable and the disclosure needs to be in the public interest.
The protections extend to “workers”, which is broader than employees: it includes some self-employed contractors and agency workers. Personal grievances about your own employment don’t qualify as whistleblowing, though in practice some situations overlap and require careful analysis.
A grievance is a concern about your personal treatment or employment circumstances. Whistleblowing is a concern about wrongdoing that goes beyond your own situation and affects others or the public interest.
Some situations overlap: a worker who raises concerns about unsafe working practices, for example, may be both raising a personal grievance and making a protected disclosure. Employers sometimes mishandle these situations by routing concerns through the wrong process. If you’re unsure which category your concern falls into, take advice before deciding how to raise it.
Workers who make a protected disclosure cannot be subjected to a detriment because of it. Employees who are dismissed for whistleblowing are automatically unfairly dismissed, with no qualifying period of employment required. Compensation in both cases is uncapped, which reflects how seriously the law treats suppression of protected disclosures.
Individual co-workers who subject a whistleblower to a detriment can also face personal liability, alongside the employer. Managers should be trained on how to handle disclosures appropriately: a poor first response can create liability that the employer then has to defend even if the underlying disclosure turns out to be unfounded.
The most common route is internal: reporting to your employer through whatever channel they have in place, whether a designated person, a hotline, or a manager above the alleged wrongdoer. Many employers have a specific whistleblowing policy setting out the process.
Where you don’t feel able to report internally, or have already done so without result, you can make a disclosure to a “prescribed person”: a regulator or public body responsible for the relevant area. The right prescribed person depends on the subject matter (the FCA for financial services, the CQC for health and social care, HMRC for tax, and so on). Wider disclosure to the press carries higher legal hurdles and should only be considered with specialist advice.
Dismissal for whistleblowing is automatically unfair, with no qualifying period required. If the dismissal is connected to a protected disclosure, you can bring a claim at the Employment Tribunal regardless of how long you’ve worked there, and compensation is uncapped.
The difficulty is that employers rarely acknowledge whistleblowing as the reason. The challenge for the worker is establishing the causal link between the disclosure and the treatment. Documentary evidence, the timing of events, and the sequence of decisions are all important in building that case. If you believe you’ve been dismissed or treated badly because of something you raised, take advice on whether it meets the legal threshold. Get in touch with our team here.
