Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA), it is unlawful for an employer to dismiss or to subject any worker to a detriment on the grounds that they have made a ‘protected disclosure’, that is, disclosing information which they reasonably believe shows that their employer, or indeed any other person or company has committed a breach of a legal obligation. Unlike ordinary unfair dismissal protection, protection from dismissal under PIDA arises from the outset of employment and compensation is uncapped and assessed according to how much loss an individual suffers as a result. It is therefore important to recognise when whistleblowing has taken place and respond appropriately.
PIDA is a highly technical piece of legislation. Claims can turn on points of law as often as on issues of fact. We regularly advise employers on navigating the legislation in defending whistleblowing claims under PIDA. Our lawyers often deal with standalone whistleblowing claims or whistleblowing claims forming part of a larger claim. However, prevention is better than cure, and we also provide advice on implementing and maintaining appropriate whistleblowing policies in the workplace and can provide training on how to minimise the risk of a whistleblowing claim.
How Fox & Partners can help…
- prepare whistleblowing policies for your business
- provide advice on your obligations to the employee
- advise on any obligations you owe to your regulator arising from the disclosure
- help to respond to any grievances, data protection requests or other information requests made by the employee
- negotiate with the employee to explore out of court resolution to any dispute
- if necessary, defend any tribunal claim which may be made.
Please call us on 020 7618 2400