If so, consider whether the worker meets the other hurdles see below. The disclosure, in the reasonable belief of the worker, tends to show one or more of six types of wrongdoing is taking place or is likely to take place. The six types of wrongdoing are as follows: a Criminal offences; b Breach of any legal obligation; c Miscarriages of justice; d Danger to the health and safety of any individual; e Damage to the environment; f The deliberate concealing of information about any of the above.
The worker will have a 'reasonable belief' in the wrongdoing if: - they subjectively believe that the wrongdoing is taking place or is likely to take place ; and - in the tribunal's view, their belief is objectively reasonable.
The worker reasonably believes that the disclosure is in the public interest. If the worker genuinely believed the disclosure was made in the public interest and the tribunal concludes this belief was objectively reasonable, then the worker will be able to show they had a 'reasonable belief'. If the disclosure is about the worker's own position and has no public interest element, then it will fall at this hurdle and will not amount to a protected disclosure. This is for an Employment Tribunal to decide and the following four factors may assist in their decision making: a The number of people whose interests are affected by the disclosure.
For example, a breach of contract disclosure that affects all teachers' contracts may point to the disclosure being in the 'public interest'. If the disclosure directly affects an important interest such as a concerning safeguarding culture then this is more likely to be in the public interest, as opposed to a wrongdoing which is of more marginal application.
If the wrongdoing is deliberate, it is more likely to be in the public interest. The larger or more prominent the wrongdoer, the more likely the disclosure about their activities will engage the public interest. Where a grievance is made to the employer, it is likely this hurdle will be met. As you will wish to deal with any protected disclosure internally it is important to have a Whistleblowing Policy in place, which requests that staff follow that policy and first seek to deal with matters internally.
Follow the school's Whistleblowing Policy. However, employers should:. Grievances are typically between the employee and employer, while whistleblowing cases are usually concerns of one employee about another reported to the employer. In this sense whistleblowers are trying to protect the organisation by exposing wrongdoing which is unlikely to be sanctioned by the employer. Employers should put in place separate arrangements for employee disciplinary and grievances.
ACAS have produced a Code of Practice on this topic, adherence to which is considered favourably by employment tribunals. Failure to comply with this code may prompt an employment tribunal to increase any award made by 25 per cent. Currently, there is no legal obligation to put any specific whistleblowing arrangements in place — instead there are a range of regulatory requirements depending on market sector and geographical jurisdiction.
However, it is considered good practice to provide policies and procedures which allow employees to raise any concerns of wrongdoing in the organisation. This is helpful in several ways:. You can raise your concern at any time about an incident that happened in the past, is happening now, or you believe will happen in the near future. Personal grievances for example bullying, harassment, discrimination are not covered by whistleblowing law, unless your particular case is in the public interest.
Contact the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service Acas for help and advice on resolving a workplace dispute. Check what you need to do. To help us improve GOV. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Cookies on GOV. It may be that, whatever outcome the person is hoping for, in the interests of providing a safe service, the public interest issue needs to be considered and investigated.
The concern must not be recorded as whistleblowing if the person raising it does not want it to be. If someone raises a concern and, at the same time, claims they have been treated unfairly as a result of raising this concern through business as usual, the initial discussion must identify what outcomes the person would like to achieve. The organisation must also direct them to any appropriate HR procedures to make sure this can be handled appropriately.
It is also particularly important to make sure appropriate support is in place to prevent any further unfair treatment.
0コメント