Under a piece of UK legislation called the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA), Employees and Workers who ‘blow the whistle’ – i.e.make a ‘protected disclosure’ of any wrong-doing in the workplace by their Employer – can complain to an Employment Tribunal if they are:
- dismissed (or selected for redundancy) or
- victimised at work in any way
for making such a disclosure. Someone blows the whistle when the tell their Employer, a Regulator, a Customer, the Police or the Media about a dangerous or
illegal activity that they are aware of through their work. The Act is used to inform those who need to know, about a Health and Safety Risk, Environmental problems, Fraud, Corruption, deficiencies in the care of vulnerable people, cover-ups and many more types of actions.
See our Guide here about what you should do if you boss or client asks you to do something illegal at work.
The person who blows the whistle is often not personally affected by the danger of illegal activity. The Act does not require the whistle-blower to prove the mal-practice, they are just the person raising a concern.
Any dismissal will automatically be seen as unfair if it is wholly or mainly for making a ‘protected disclosure’.
The ‘wrong-doing’ in the workplace that an employee can disclose in the public interest, must relate to either:
- a criminal offence by their employer,
- a miscarriage of justice by their employer,
- danger to health and safety caused by their employer,
- or danger to the environment caused by their employer,
- The Bribery Act 2010 is law from 1st July 2011 and offences under this act become a ‘wrong-doing’ that is covered by the Whistle-blowing legislation.
PIDA does
not require Employers to have a internal whistle-blowers policy, although it encourages them to do so. Employers are also encouraged under the recent
Bribery Act (July 2011) to have a whistle-blowing policy and Bribery Prevention policies so they do not fall foul of that Act. PIDA also does
not require a Worker to raise their concerns with their Employer first, before speaking to anyone else, although it does encourage this to happen.
Importantly, if your Contract of Employment contains a gagging clause preventing you from blowing the whistle, this is void and not legally valid.
The charity Public Concern at Work provide confidential and practical advice on how to raise a concern and minimise any risk to yourself. Their website and their telephone helpline provide this advice – 0207 404 6609. They are unable to give you advice on employment law or represent you legally. They will ensure your details remain confidential and are not disclosed to your Employer if you talk to them.
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If you work in the UK Media Industries and have a question about this or any other topic, please e-mail us at workline@freelanceadvisor.co.uk
If you are an Employer and need ongoing professional help with any staff/freelance issues then talk to us at The HR Kiosk (click here) - a Human Resources Consultancy for small businesses – you can retain us for as much time as you need.
Workline is supported by Employment Lawyers Goodman Derrick LLP. Please note that the advice given on this website and by our Advisors is guidance only and cannot be taken as an authoritative interpretation of the law. It can also not be seen as specific advice for individual cases. Please also note that there are differences in legislation in Northern Ireland.
