Powered by Lexis+®
Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
CASE STUDY

“The forms and precedents section is essential so that I can quickly and easily look up provisions to include in templates or bespoke project contracts.”

RWE

Access all documents on Whistleblowing

Whistleblowing meaning

/ˈwɪs(ə)l//bləʊ/
What does Whistleblowing mean?
In practice, whistleblowing describes a worker raising concerns about suspected workplace wrongdoing by disclosing information in the public interest, usually to their employer, a prescribed regulator or (in limited circumstances) more widely. Across England & Wales and Scotland, “whistleblowing” commonly refers to making a “protected disclosure” under the Employment Rights Act 1996, ss.43A–43L (inserted by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998). Northern Ireland has near‑equivalent provisions. A qualifying disclosure must be a disclosure of information (not mere allegation) which the worker reasonably believes tends to show specified wrongdoing (such as a criminal offence, breach of legal obligation, miscarriage of justice, danger to health and safety, environmental damage, or deliberate concealment). Good faith is not required, though lack of good faith may affect compensation. Protection covers workers against detriment and renders dismissal of an employee for making a protected disclosure automatically unfair. Disclosures to legal advisers are protected; “wider” disclosures are subject to stricter tests. In Ireland, the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (as amended by the 2022 Act) provides broadly similar whistleblower protection for a wide class of workers, with mandated internal and external reporting channels, confidentiality obligations and remedies for penalisation. Categories of wrongdoing and prescribed persons differ in detail, but usage...
Speed up all aspects of your legal work with tools that help you to work faster and smarter. Win cases, close deals and grow your business–all whilst saving time and reducing risk.

View the related Checklists about Whistleblowing

CHECKLISTS
UK Bribery Act 2010 compliance checklist and precedents for organisations and law firms: risk assessment, policies, gifts and hospitality, agents and intermediaries, joint ventures, donations, training, whistleblowing, monitoring

Anti-bribery and corruption Checklist This anti-bribery and corruption Checklist helps you assess whether your systems meet the Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010) and the government’s guidance on bribery and corruption. Read it together with these subtopics: Anti-bribery and corruption—regulatory regime Anti-bribery and corruption—Identifying & assessing risks Anti-bribery and corruption—policy and procedures, or for law firms, Anti-bribery and corruption—policy and procedures—law firms Anti-bribery and corruption—gifts and hospitality Anti-bribery and corruption—agents and intermediaries Anti-bribery and corruption—joint ventures and acquisitions Anti-bribery and corruption—charitable and political donations Anti-bribery and corruption—staff training & awareness, or for law firms, Anti-bribery and corruption—staff training and awareness—law firms Anti-bribery and corruption—monitoring and review This Checklist signposts relevant Precedents you can use or tailor to satisfy these requirements and recommendations. It includes a box to indicate whether each item has been completed and a section to add comments or record action points...

Read More Right Arrow
CHECKLISTS
Whistleblowing and Breach Reporting in Law Firms: Compliance Systems Checklist

This checklist is intended to help you assess whether your systems enable compliance with regulatory obligations that apply to law firms concerning whistleblowing. It should be read in conjunction with the subtopic: Whistleblowing—law firms. For guidance on whistleblowing, please refer to Practice Note: Protection for whistleblowers—law firms. Further guidance on breach reporting can also be found in the Practice Note: Breach reporting—law firms. Requirement Compulsory or recommended?...

Read More Right Arrow
CHECKLISTS
Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (Whistleblowing): timeline 2014–2021 and the UK post‑Brexit position (non‑retained, not transposed)

This record has been archived and is no longer being updated. This Timeline sets out the principal milestones linked to Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (OJ L 305, 26.11.2019, p. 17) (the Whistleblowing Directive). Member States had to implement the Whistleblowing Directive’s provisions in domestic law by 17 December 2021. As the Whistleblowing Directive was not carried across into EU retained law after IP completion day (31 December 2020), it does not apply in the UK. 2021 29 June 2021 — Council of the EU — Opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor on the Proposal for a Regulation on Markets in Crypto-assets, and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 The Council of the EU released the EDPS’s opinion, dated 24 June 2021, on the European Commission’s proposal for a regulation on markets in cryptoassets and for amendments to the EU Whistleblowing Directive; the EDPS expressed support for the proposal and also outlined several suggested revisions...

Read More Right Arrow

View the related News about Whistleblowing

NEWS
UK employment law update: tribunal limits, SSP/SMP rises, neonatal leave, ERB progress, Skilled Worker immigration changes, DEI pay gap consultation, key cases and April 2025 changes (20 March 2025)

In this issue: Horizon scanning Worker status and categories Immigration Pay Remuneration Taxation Diversity and the gender pay gap Maternity, parents and carers Whistleblowing Data protection and staff information Confidentiality, obligations and restrictions: enforcement Financial services and banking: employment matters Bribery, modern slavery, tax evasion and fraud Issues arising on termination Employment Tribunals Civil courts and alternative dispute resolution Dates for your diary Trackers Employment resources on Lexis+® LexTalk® Employment: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Horizon scanning Updated Employment Rights Bill to be considered by the House of Lords The updated Employment Rights Bill (ERB), transmitted from the House of Commons to the House of Lords, was issued on 14 March 2025. Its second reading in the House of Lords is scheduled for 27 March 2025...

Read More Right Arrow
NEWS
Employment law weekly briefing: litigation highlights, policy and compliance on discrimination, unfair dismissal, whistleblowing, tribunal practice, pay and tips, CSRD reporting, immigration, key dates and resources (15 August 2024)

In this issue: Pay Prohibited conduct (discrimination etc) Equality, diversity and inclusion Whistleblowing Coronavirus (COVID-19) Issues arising on termination Employment tribunals Corporate governance Immigration Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content IRLR Highlights—September 2024 Dates for your diary Trackers New Q&As Pay Think tank High Pay Centre released analysis of FTSE 100 executive pay for 2023. While CEO pay growth has eased after the post-pandemic surge, the median package hit a new record, up from £4.1m in 2022 to £4.19m in 2023. See: LNB News 12/08/2024 34. Prohibited conduct (discrimination etc) ET permitted to reject dismissal complaints despite the employer’s previous omission to make reasonable adjustments. In Parnell v Royal Mail Group [2024] EAT 130, the claimant brought about 31 employment tribunal claims, divided into two periods, each decided by a different tribunal...

Read More Right Arrow
NEWS
UK Corporate Crime and Enforcement Round-up: Whistleblowing, DPAs, Sentencing Access, Sanctions Oil Price Cap, Data Offences, ESG/Water Reforms, SFO Updates - Week of 22 January 2026

In this issue: Investigating criminal conduct Decision to prosecute and alternatives to prosecution Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Food safety and hygiene offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Investigating criminal conduct Whistleblowing in the UK—Still a long road ahead Rahman Ravelli’s legal director, Dr Angelika Hellweger, together with associate, Tatiana Novikova, examine how the UK handles whistleblowing. They map out the present UK statutory position and other relevant mechanisms, assess the scope of the safeguards they afford, and set these against the options open to whistleblowers in the United States of America. They also describe the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) whistleblower reward initiative announced near the end of 2025,...

Read More Right Arrow

View the related Practice Notes about Whistleblowing

PRACTICE NOTES
Joint employment: legal presumption, vicarious liability, agency workers, office‑holders, schools, collective bargaining, TUPE, tax and contractual drafting issues

Quick view This Practice Note explores whether an employee can be engaged by two or more employers for the same role at the same time—joint employment (also termed dual employment or multiple employment). It examines the general assumption, the issue of vicarious liability, and the position of agency workers, office-holders and teachers. It also considers the setting of collective bargaining, the effect of TUPE 2006, and tax questions that may arise. Finally, it reviews the factors relevant to written contracts that involve multiple employers. Joint employment is typically discussed in relation to vicarious liability, for instance negligence (see: Vicarious liability, below). Regarding an individual’s employment rights, it appears reasonably clear that the prevailing presumption—that an employee cannot have more than one employer for the same work at the same time—can be displaced in these situations: where the person has two roles with separate employers and the roles are compatible; and where two or more employers act together within a partnership or joint venture ...

Read More Right Arrow
PRACTICE NOTES
Whistleblowing: Protected disclosures under the Employment Rights Act 1996—qualifying tests, public interest, disclosure routes, prescribed persons’ duties, exceptions, and limits on NDAs/confidentiality clauses

Practice Note This Practice Note explores what amounts to a protected disclosure for the whistleblowing protections in the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), into which the relevant provisions of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA 1998) have been incorporated. It addresses the general features of disclosures, when they qualify as qualifying disclosures, the need for a whistleblower to hold a reasonable belief that a relevant category of wrongdoing has occurred, and that the disclosure serves the public interest, where appropriate and necessary. It further considers when qualifying disclosures obtain protection and identifies the prescribed persons (people) to whom a disclosure may properly be directed. In addition, the Practice Note summarises the reporting obligations placed on certain prescribed persons to produce an annual written report concerning the workers’ disclosures received by them...

Read More Right Arrow
PRACTICE NOTES
Whistleblowing under ERA 1996: qualifying and protected disclosures, detriment and dismissal protections, prescribed persons, and best-practice policies (including 2025–2026 updates: sanctions prescribed persons and sexual harassment)

This Practice Note provides an overview of the legal framework and practical context for whistleblowing under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996). It offers high-level guidance for organisations and supports the drafting of your whistleblowing policy and procedures. It is not a handbook for managing whistleblowing claims, which is an employment law issue. What is whistleblowing? Whistleblowing refers to a worker disclosing information about wrongdoing (ie making a disclosure), usually—though not always—arising in the workplace. For whistleblowing protections to apply, the worker must reasonably believe they are acting in the public interest and that the disclosure points to past, current, or likely future wrongdoing within one or more of these categories: criminal offences (eg fraud) failure to meet a legal obligation miscarriages of justice risks to someone’s health and safety damage to the environment from 6 April 2026, sexual harassment concealment of wrongdoing in these categories Whistleblowing legislation is contained in the ERA 1996, as...

Read More Right Arrow

View the related Precedents about Whistleblowing

PRECEDENTS
Template CEO Message on Strengthening Compliance Culture: Code of Ethics, Training, Whistleblowing and Non-Retaliation

From: [ [ insert job title ], ] [ Name ] [ Insert, eg The Senior Leadership Team ] has established a [ insert period ] objective in order to raise our Governance and Compliance benchmarks even further. This entails ensuring every colleague fully comprehends and reliably adheres to our policies, procedures and relevant laws at the highest possible level. Focus areas include data protection, access to our products and services, and appropriate dealings with customers, suppliers and competitors...

Read More Right Arrow
PRECEDENTS
Employee Grievance Policy and Procedure (Acas Code-compliant, England, Scotland and Wales)

1 Purpose and scope of the procedure 1.1 A grievance is any concern, issue or complaint an employee brings to their employer. Such matters may involve, amongst other areas, terms and conditions of employment, health and safety, workplace relationships, new working practices, organisational changes, equal opportunities [ and bullying and harassment ]. [ If your grievance concerns discrimination, bullying, harassment [ or whistleblowing ] please refer to the [ discrimination AND/OR bullying and harassment AND/OR whistleblowing ] policies, which set out the procedure to follow in those circumstances and are available from [ specify contact ]. ] 1.2 We will endeavour to deal, as swiftly as possible, with any grievance you may have regarding your employment. This procedure is available to any employee who has a grievance about their employment and is the process you should use if you wish to raise a formal grievance. Where appropriate, you should first try to resolve the issue informally with the person to whom you directly report. If it cannot be...

Read More Right Arrow
PRECEDENTS
Company Gifts and Hospitality (Anti-Bribery) Policy: UK Thresholds, Approval, Register, Compliance and Whistleblowing

1 Introduction 1.1 The Company conducts its affairs [ es ] with honesty. We must all act together to keep it free from bribery and corruption. This policy is central to that aim, and it binds us all: the board and every employee of the Company, for everyone at all times. 1.2 It addresses the giving or acceptance of gifts and hospitality, ensuring that any legitimate spending is properly recorded and does not unduly influence the final result of procurement, applications, or any other business dealings. 2 Offer and receipt of gifts and hospitality 2.1 The Company prohibits any officer or employee of the Company from requesting any gift or hospitality in the course of their employment, whether for themselves, for a third party, or on anyone’s behalf...

Read More Right Arrow