When did you last think about whistleblowing? For many businesses, this will not be at the forefront of manager’s minds, but it is important to know the basics and spot when an employee is blowing the whistle. Not only does this aid in ensuring matters are dealt with appropriately, but it helps to reduce the likelihood your business will make a mis-step and infringe on the protection employment law affords whistleblowers.
So, what are the three essentials you need to know?
- What is whistleblowing?
- What can employees blow the whistle about?
- What protection do whistleblowers have?
1. What is whistleblowing?
Broadly speaking whistleblowing is where an employee discloses information, often to their employer, which they reasonably believe shows certain types of wrongdoing has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur. To benefit from whistleblower protection, the employee must also reasonably believe that the disclosure is in the public interest.
What is meant by ‘in the public interest’ is not set out by statute but instead has been left to employment tribunals and the courts to determine – unfortunately for businesses the bar is not as high for employees as you may have expected. For example, in (1) Chesterton Global (2) Verman v Nurmohamed, it was sufficient that the claimant had other senior managers in mind (as well as himself) when he made his disclosures that their employer was manipulating the figures in the accounts to the detriment of those partly paid on a commission basis.
2. What can employees blow the whistle about?
There are seven 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, that sexual harassment has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur and the deliberate concealing of information about any of these things.
In practice, these categories can be wide and it is important to bear in mind that employees can still have whistleblower protection even if it turns out that what they were saying was wrong.
3. What protection do whistleblowers have?
It is automatically unfair to dismiss an employee wholly or partly because they have blown the whistle. They also have protection from being subjected to a detriment, such as being disciplined or demoted, because they have blown the whistle.
As these protections are ‘day one rights’ it is particularly important to ensure that all whistleblowers are treated appropriately. One area in particular that can sometimes catch businesses out is the dismissal of short serving employees – what a manager thinks of as getting rid of a trouble maker or someone who is not a good fit for the business can sometimes turn out to be the automatic unfair dismissal of a whistleblower which can prove to be a costly decision. Being aware of the basics, staying alert and always seeking advice on the situation you are dealing with before taking action can help you to protect your business.
If you have a HR matter you would like assistance with, please do not hesitate to get in touch we are always happy to help.