Forthcoming Changes to the ‘Whistleblowing’ Legislation

The Government has announced changes to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill that will enhance the protections available to workers who ‘blow the whistle’ against their employer.



Individuals who make a protected disclosure will, once the Bill is enacted, be protected from bullying or harassment by their fellow workers. Currently, the law only affords a worker protection from harassment or bullying by their employer.



Employers will be held vicariously liable for detrimental treatment of a whistleblower at the hands of his or her fellow workers unless the employer can demonstrate that it took all reasonable steps to prevent the treatment.



Also, as the law stands at present, a worker can only rely on legal protection against dismissal for having made a protected disclosure if he or she was acting in good faith. This requirement is to be removed. In its place, an employment tribunal will have the power to reduce the compensation awarded by 25 per cent if it finds that the disclosure was not made in good faith.



The whistleblowing charity Concern at Work has useful information on this topic.



The changes mean that where the making of a protected disclosure results in a deterioration in relationships in the workplace, the employer must not only take care that any action it takes to resolve the situation does not constitute detrimental treatment of the whistleblower but also do all it can to protect that person from bullying and harassment by other members of staff.