Whistleblowing and grievance employment law claims and experts

Whistleblowing

As a leading firm of employment law solicitors with one of the biggest employment law teams in the Peterborough and Grantham area, we are highly experienced in advising employers on whistleblowing issues and disputes.

For more information and advice from one of our employment law solicitors, please call our expert legal team on 01780 757 589, or request a callback, alternatively complete our quick online enquiry form.

What is Whistleblowing?

Whistleblowing is when an employee or worker suspects there is wrongdoing at their place of work and brings it to their employer’s attention. This is formally called ‘making a disclosure in the public interest’ and means employees are protected by law.

Disclosures must be about one of the following:

A criminal offence
Damage to the environment
Breach in a legal obligation
Miscarriage of justice
Someone’s health and safety is in danger
The employer isn’t obeying the law
Any of the above activities are being ‘concealed’

In these instances, employees and workers are protected against dismissal for whistleblowing, and workers and employees are protected against detriment, and this is regardless of how long they’ve been working for you.

Personal grievances, for example, bullying, harassment, discrimination are not covered by whistleblowing law, unless the particular case is in the public interest. This instead should be dealt with in the first instance through your grievance procedures.

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Dismissal for Whistleblowing

If an employee is ultimately dismissed, they can claim for unfair dismissal. Compensation for whistleblowing claims are unlimited, which has to lead to a rise in claims in this area.

It’s crucial to have an appropriate policy and process to address whistleblowing concerns in your workplace. It’s also essential that suitably trained people are in place to deal with them. This encourages staff to come forward if there is a problem, which in turn can allow you to deal with it internally, protecting your business, avoid any unnecessary claims and protect your reputation.

Wrongful dismissal

Dismissing someone from a job is not a decision any responsible employer takes lightly. In most cases, employees have a lot more rights in the workplace which protect them against dismissal and so it is vital to understand when dismissal is appropriate and how at best it should be carried out.

Fair reasons for dismissal

While you feel there may be a good cause, dismissing an employee without a potentially fair reason or without following fair procedure may lead to a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal. There are five conceivable fair reasons for dismissing an employee:

Conduct
Capability
Redundancy
When continued employment would be illegal
Some other substantial reason

For further advice or support around these potentially fair reasons and when they will apply. Please call one of our specialist employment law solicitors on 01780 757 589, request a callback, or complete our quick online enquiry form.