Whistleblowing Advice for Employers
As an employer, you have many obligations towards your employees. Allowing them to alert someone to serious failings within the business, without fear of recrimination, is one such obligation. If they fear that the business, or individuals within it are operating in a way that is unlawful, they have a right to be able to report this without suffering any detriment as a result.
Our team of legal specialists offers advice to businesses on a wide range of Employment Law matters, in different languages. Call them on 0208 1111 911 or contact them through the website, for the professional, specialist legal advice that you need.
What exactly is Whistleblowing?
Whistleblowing means alerting someone of unfair or unlawful behaviour on the part of a company or individuals within it. A whistleblowing disclosure might be made to the senior management of a business in the first instance.
However, the information disclosed may actually relate to the the conduct of senior management. The disclosure might therefore be made to regulators, professional bodies, government departments or law enforcement bodies.
Another key principle of whistleblowing is that the person making the disclosure must suffer no personal detriment as a result. The Employment Rights Act 1996, includes guidance on whistleblowing:
“A worker has the right not to be subjected to any detriment by any act, or any deliberate failure to act, by his employer done on the ground that the worker has made a protected disclosure”.
The disclosure must also:
- Be in the wider public interest
- Be made to an appropriate person or body
- Be a ‘qualifying disclosure’- for example it may relate to a criminal offence, failure of a legal obligation, danger to human life or significant harm to the environment among other things.
If you have an issue with whistleblowing in the workplace, we can help you determine whether or not an issue amounts to a qualifying disclosure.
What other legal services might I need?
We can help you with a wide range of other legal services including Employment Law, Dispute Resolution, Debt Recovery, Commercial Property and more.
How do I get advice on whistleblowing for my business?
Call us on 0208 1111 911 or contact us through the website and we’ll discuss your circumstances with you. Then we’ll recommend the best course of action. The initial call is free and we’ll advise you of our fees before you decide to instruct us.
