Glossary · UK
What is Whistleblowing Protection?
Legal protection under the Public Interest Disclosure Act for workers who raise genuine concerns about wrongdoing at work, shielding them from dismissal or other detriment for having spoken up.
Full Definition
Whistleblowing protection gives a worker who makes a 'protected disclosure' -- broadly, a disclosure of information that they reasonably believe is in the public interest and shows one of a defined list of wrongdoings, such as a criminal offence, a breach of a legal obligation, a danger to health and safety, or environmental damage -- the right not to be dismissed or subjected to any other detriment (such as being denied a promotion, being disciplined, or being bullied) because they made that disclosure. The protection, introduced by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and incorporated into the Employment Rights Act 1996, generally requires the disclosure to be made to an appropriate person or body -- typically the employer first, though disclosures to a regulator (a 'prescribed person', such as HMRC, the FCA or the Health and Safety Executive) or, in more limited circumstances, more widely, can also qualify -- and applies from an employee's or worker's very first day, without the usual two-year qualifying period required for an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. If a worker is dismissed or suffers a detriment because they blew the whistle, they can bring an employment tribunal claim, and compensation for whistleblowing-related unfair dismissal is not subject to the usual statutory cap that applies to ordinary unfair dismissal awards, reflecting the seriousness with which the law treats retaliation against those who raise genuine public-interest concerns.