Understanding Whistleblowing
Rights, risks, and why it matters more than ever
Whistleblowing plays a vital role in protecting the public interest, exposing wrongdoing, preventing harm and holding organisations to account. In the UK, whistleblowers are protected by law, but in practice the system is often misunderstood, inconsistently applied and emotionally fraught for those involved.
As regulatory scrutiny increases and the Employment Rights Act enhances protection for whistleblowers, understanding the legal framework around whistleblowing is essential for employees, employers, HR teams, and senior leaders alike.
This article highlights how whistleblowing protection works, what counts as a protected disclosure, and the legal and practical risks when it goes wrong.
What is whistleblowing?
Whistleblowing protection is governed by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA), which is embedded into the Employment Rights Act 1996.
In legal terms, whistleblowing involves a “protected disclosure” which is a report made by a worker about wrongdoing that affects the public interest.
For a disclosure to be protected, it must relate to one or more of the following:
- Criminal activity
- Breach of a legal obligation
- Miscarriage of justice
- Health and safety dangers
- Environmental damage
- Attempts to conceal wrongdoing
The worker must also reasonably believe the disclosure is in the public interest, meaning it goes beyond a purely personal grievance.
This distinction is crucial: complaints about workload, pay disputes or personal grievances do not qualify unless they reveal broader unlawful or unsafe conduct.
You will not be protected when making a qualifying disclosure if you commit a criminal offence by disclosing the information (for example, by stealing files to get it) or if you breach legal professional privilege.
Who is protected?
Whistleblowing protection extends beyond traditional employees. It covers a wide range of “workers”, including:
- Employees
- Agency workers
- Contractors and freelancers
- Trainees and interns
- Some self-employed individuals
- LLP members in certain circumstances
This broad scope reflects the reality of modern work, where wrongdoing may be witnessed by people outside standard employment structures. Those who are not protected include volunteers, some self-employed workers, non-executive directors and certain professions.
What protections does the law provide?
The law protects whistleblowers from two main forms of retaliation:
1. Detriment for whistleblowing
A worker must not suffer any disadvantage because they made a protected disclosure. This can include:
- Disciplinary action
- Denial of promotion or training
- Reduction in hours
- Bullying or harassment
- Isolation or exclusion
- Threats or intimidation
There is no minimum length of service required to bring a whistleblowing detriment claim.
2. Unfair dismissal
If an employee is dismissed because they made a protected disclosure, the dismissal is automatically unfair. There is no cap on compensation, which makes whistleblowing claims among the most legally and financially serious employment claims an employer can face.
How and where can disclosures be made?
You can make a protected disclosure to your employer, to another person who is responsible for the wrongdoing or to your legal adviser. You can also make a disclosure to a prescribed person or body (there is a government list of these) or, if you work for a statutory body, to government ministers.
In limited circumstances, you can make a disclosure to the police or media, but there will need to be a good reason for doing so.
You should put your disclosure in writing and keep an accurate record of what you disclosed, when and to whom, along with any evidence.
Responding to a protected disclosure
As an employer, it’s essential to take any disclosure seriously, to handle it fairly and consistently, following your organisation’s whistleblowing procedure and keeping the identity of the whistleblower confidential. You should keep the whistleblower informed about the progress of any investigation into their disclosure.
If your organisation does not have a whistleblowing policy, you should put one in place as soon as possible. You should also train managers on whistleblowing procedures and how to respond to disclosures.
For more information about conducting a workplace investigation:
Employment Rights Act 2025
The Employment Rights Act came into force at the end of 2025. It introduces various changes, including that allegations of sexual harassment will be treated as protected disclosures and workers who make such disclosures will have whistleblowing protection against detriment and unfair dismissal. These changes came into effect in April 2026.
For more information about the Employment Rights Act:
Non-disclosure agreements
Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are often used as part of settlements by way of a confidentiality clause. Currently, NDAs are not allowed to be used for allegations of whistleblowing.
Under the Employment Rights Act, an employer will not be able to use an NDA to stop a worker from making harassment or discrimination allegations or to prevent a worker from talking about the employer’s response to the harassment or discrimination. These changes are likely to come into force in 2026/27.
Best practice
Effective whistleblowing frameworks are built on trust, communication and leadership accountability. Best practice includes:
Clear policies
Whistleblowing policies should explain:
- What qualifies as a protected disclosure. This should be amended as necessary to bring in line with the changes to be introduced by the Employment Rights Act.
- How to report concerns
- How confidentiality will be handled
- How retaliation will be prevented
Some organisations now use anonymous reporting systems or even external hotlines, which can increase confidence, especially in sensitive or high-risk sectors.
Manager training
Line managers need to understand:
- How to recognise whistleblowing
- How to avoid retaliation
- How to escalate concerns properly
Untrained managers remain one of the largest sources of legal exposure.
Strong tone from leadership
Employees are more likely to speak up when senior leaders:
- Publicly support ethical reporting
- Demonstrate zero tolerance for retaliation
- Act transparently on findings
For more information about how to handle bad PR:
Whistleblowers often act at great personal risk to expose wrongdoing. For employers, whistleblowing should not be viewed as a threat, but as an early warning system, a chance to address risks before they become scandals. For workers, understanding legal rights before speaking up can be critical to protecting both livelihood and wellbeing.
Handled well, whistleblowing strengthens trust, accountability, and ethical business. Handled badly, it can destroy careers, reputations, and organisational credibility.
If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article, please get in touch.
The legal content provided by RSW Law Limited is for information purposes only and should not be relied on in any specific case without legal or other professional advice.
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