Detriment for blowing the whistle

Employees who are whistleblowers have protection from dismissal and detriment (being treated badly) because they blew that whistle on their employers. These so called ‘protected disclosures’ could be disclosures of information about a criminal offence, or breach of health and safety, or other legal obligations. An example of a detriment is refusing to promote someone because they blew the whistle on you.

However, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that the person who imposes the detriment must be personally motivated by the protected disclosure that the employee made (for example, if a manager decides not to promote an employee because he disclosed information about a health and safety breach).

In Dr Malik’s case the tribunal decided that his manager did not suspend him because he had blown the whistle on his employer, Cenkos Securities plc. Dr Malik had argued that there was a conspiracy to get rid of him by others who knew about his protected disclosures. The tribunal disagreed and found that his manager had come to the decision to suspend Dr Malik himself. He had not been influenced by others and so Dr Malik lost his case.

Contact our Employment Team.