UK law has granted protection for those who raise concerns of potential wrongdoing in the workplace (whistleblowers) since 1999 through the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
The EU, when considering what its own whistleblowing protection laws should look like, recognised that the UK already grants comprehensive protection for whistleblowers. Nevertheless, there are differences between the position in the UK and the requirements of the EU Whistleblowing Directive (the “Directive”) which Member States were required to transpose into domestic law by 17 December 2021.
This article provides a summary of the UK whistleblowing regime currently in force and the main differences between that and the provisions of the Directive.
The Current Position
WHO IS PROTECTED?
The protection provided by whistleblowing legislation is afforded to employees, agency workers, members of limited liability partnerships, judicial office-holders and workers who are not employees.
There is no minimum service requirement in order to bring a whistleblowing claim (protection is a “day one right”) and, significantly, there is no cap on the amount of compensation that may be awarded in whistleblowing claims (unlike in standard unfair dismissal claims).
PROTECTED FROM WHAT?
If an employee is dismissed because they have made a “protected disclosure” (i.e. blown the whistle), that dismissal is automatically unfair.
Those who are not employees are protected from being subjected to detrimental treatment as a...
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