14 August
As a result of changes to the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, the law on whistleblowing has changed as follows:
- For a disclosure to be protected, the worker must reasonably believe it is made in the public interest
- Disclosures made in bad faith are now capable of being protected disclosures, but if malice was the predominant motivation of a worker who suffers a detriment at work as a result of whistleblowing, employment tribunals may reduce any financial award by up to 25%
- Employers are now vicariously liable if co-workers cause whistle-blowers to suffer a detriment by any act or omission of the co-worker in the course of their work. The co-worker can also be personally liable to the whistle-blower for their behaviour. Employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent co-workers from causing detriment to whistle-blowers. Staff are reminded of the University’s policy on Dignity at Work, the Code of Behaviour and the Problem Resolution Framework.
The University is in the process of consulting on updates to our whistleblowing policy and full details of the changes will be advertised via e-view and other appropriate channels later in the year.
Staff should make themselves familiar with the current whistleblowing policy which is on the HR intranet site, but bear in mind the changes to the law which are outlined above.