Whistleblowing claims to be sent to regulators
Following consultation, the Government have confirmed that
legislation will be amended from 6 April 2010 which will require the
Tribunals Service to provide to the relevant regulator a copy of the
whole, or part, of any ET1 which alleges that a protected disclosure has
been made under the whistleblowing provisions of the Employment Rights
Act 1996.
Following a favourable response to consultation on a proposal to
allow the Tribunals Service to forward to the relevant regulator details
of protected disclosures alleged in whistleblowing claim to enable the
regulator to take any steps that they consider appropriate, the
Government have confirmed the key provisions for introducing the new
statutory regime:
- ET1s will be amended to provide a tick box enquiring as to
whether the claimant is happy for the disclosure to be passed on. - If a claimant gives consent, the disclosure will be passed on to
the relevant regulator when the ET1 is received by the Tribunals
Service. - The claimant and respondent will receive confirmation in writing
of to whom the disclosure has been sent. - The relevant regulators will be the same as those on the list of
‘prescribed persons’ listed in the Public Interest Disclosure
(Prescribed Persons) Order 1999 (the original proposal to phase in
Regulators covered by the new scheme has been dropped). - The new procedure will apply to any revised version of the ET1
with an accepted whistleblowing claim received on or after 6 April 2010.
This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. Where employment tribunal and appellate court cases are reported, the information does not set out all of the facts, the legal arguments presented and the judgments made in every aspect of the case. Employment law is subject to constant change either by statute or by interpretation by the courts. While every care has been taken in compiling this information, we cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Specialist legal advice must be taken on any legal issues that may arise before embarking upon any formal course of action.
