THE topic of whistleblowing has hit the headlines again with the case of Edward Snowden, a National Security Agency contractor.
This is timely as, from June 25, the UK whistleblowing law changed under the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. Ewan Carr, an employment solicitor at Fraser Brown, explains these changes:
Workers must now reasonably believe that their disclosures are made in the public interest before obtaining any protection from dismissal. Therefore, the disclosure does not necessarily have to be in the public interest; the worker simply has to have a reasonable belief that it is.
No guidance has been given regarding what exactly "in the public interest" will mean. This will be left to individual employment tribunals to interpret. As to the definition of "worker", this has been amended slightly by the new legislation.
Further, the requirement for disclosures to be made in good faith has been removed. It is thought that if it is in the public interest, then the motivation for making the claim is not as relevant. However, this may lead to situations of disclosures being made in bad faith, that is, purely out of malice or with the intention of personal gain.
However, if the claimant is successful at tribunal but the tribunal think the disclosure has been made in bad faith, they can reduce compensation awarded by up to 25%.
For more information, contact Fraser Brown's employment team on 0115 9888 777 or visit www.fraserbrown.com