With legislation aiming to protect those raising concerns set to have its second reading in parliament later this month, Anita Vadgama explores the changes that could be introduced
As one of the few bills to have cross-party support, the primary aim of the Office of the Whistleblower Bill is to improve protections for whistleblowers and to provide a better infrastructure for all whistleblowers, not just those who are in an employment relationship, to be able to raise valid concerns about potential wrongdoing.
The only real protection whistleblowers have is under employment law. If a worker is retaliated against for making a protected disclosure they can bring a claim in the employment tribunal. Workers have the right to not to be subjected to detriment – eg, if they are demoted, receive a poor performance rating, etc – and/or not to be unfairly dismissed, if they make a protected disclosure under sections 47B and 103A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 respectively.
The current system is failing because the law relating to whistleblowing is complicated and the threshold for such claims succeeding is incredibly high. Many people think they have blown the whistle, only to find that their disclosure does not meet the statutory test or that the detriment suffered is found not to be connected to the protected disclosure. Also worth bearing in mind is that the tribunal...
Sahara Ray has now denied false claims she made against her fiancé during what she described as an 'episode' that has seen her enter hospital. The Australian model, whose father is surfing legend T...