Chesterton v Nurmohamed – Can Public disclosures have a private interest

This is a whistleblowing case we covered a few years ago, that has since been through the High Court and Court of Appeal. The question from the original case remains the same; can a disclosure that is in the private interests of the worker also be in the public interest if it impacts other workers too?

The answer, as it was in the EAT, is yes, depending on the number of workers impacted. The larger the workforce, the more likely the disclosure will be in the public interest. The CoA added that the worker does not need the belief that the disclosure is in the public interest at the time of making it so long as the disclosure impacts enough people to satisfy this objective test.