Whilst many managers are familiar with the term whistleblowing, it can be an area that sometimes gets overlooked in practice. So, what does your business need to know about whistleblowing, including the forthcoming change to the law and policy update?
- Be alert – know when an employee is ‘blowing the whistle’
- Keep up to date – sexual harassment will explicitly become ‘a type of wrongdoing’ and a policy update is available
- Be aware – whistleblowers have protection
1. Be alert – know when an employee is ‘blowing the whistle’
The law on whistleblowing can be tricky, but broadly speaking whistleblowing is where an employee discloses information, usually to their employer, which they reasonably believe shows certain types of wrongdoing has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur. The employee must reasonably believe that the disclosure is in the public interest.
Currently, there are six types of wrongdoing – criminal offences, breach of any legal obligation, miscarriages of justice, danger to the health and safety of any individual, damage to the environment and the deliberate concealing of information about any of these things. In practice, these categories can be wide and it’s important to bear in mind that employees can still have whistleblower protection even if it turns out that what they were saying was wrong.
When it comes to spotting whether an employee is a whistleblower, managers should bear in mind that there are different ways employees can blow the whistle, for example it could be done verbally or by email or letter.
2. Keep up to date – sexual harassment will become ‘a type of wrongdoing’
From 6th April 2026 sexual harassment will be added to the types of wrongdoing that an employee can ‘blow the whistle’ about – “that sexual harassment has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur”. This makes the position more explicit than is currently the case and is one of the changes being brought in by the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Many businesses have whistleblowing policies in place, and this development is likely to require a policy update. As your Employee Handbook was tailored specifically to your business, to obtain an updated policy and Memo please contact your Employment Law Specialist who will be happy to help.
3. Be aware of whistleblower protection
It’s important to ensure that whistleblowers are treated appropriately. As you would expect, it’s automatically unfair to dismiss an employee wholly or partly because they have blown the whistle. Not only do employees have this protection from day one of their employment but, unlike most other types of unfair dismissal, there is no limit on the amount an employment tribunal can award to an employee who succeeds in their claim.
It’s also important to bear in mind that employees additionally have protection from being subjected to a detriment, such as being disciplined or demoted, because they have blown the whistle.
If you have a HR matter you would like assistance with, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.