Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 Protection For A Whistle Blower

'Whistle blowing' is the intervention by an employee (the whistle blower) to bring

the wrongful acts of his employer to the attention of either the business owners, the authorities, the regulators, the government, or the public (i.e., to 'blow the whistle').

Whether an employee blows the whistle or not is usually a matter of personal judgment and conscience. Employees who contemplate whistle blowing may fear the prospect of being bullied, victimised, harassed, or discriminated at the hands of their employer. A whistle blower may believe conscience is more important than job security and will blow the whistle irrespective of personal consequences. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 was designed to give protection to a whistle blower who discloses information which is perceived to be in the public interest. The Act is intended to end the 'cover-up culture' that prevails in some organisations.

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 qualifies the whistle blower for protection under the law for the following disclosures relating to: (1) commitment of a criminal act; (2) failure to comply with any legal obligation; (3) a miscarriage of justice; (4) endangering of the health and safety of any individual; (5) damaging the environment; and (6) deliberate concealment of information tending to show any matter falling within the items above.

The Act gives the whistle blower the right not to suffer detriment by the employer's resulting action. An employee suffering detriment as a result of making a protected disclosure may take his case to an Employment Tribunal for an independent adjudication.

As well as protecting the employees, the Act has a deeper aim: to encourage organisations to behave ethically. Public enquiries into past maritime and rail disasters causing loss of life have shown that staff wishing to flag up the dangers had not felt secure to raise matters to their employers. Had they had the protection of the law they may well have felt secure and able to discuss the matters with their employers, and hence possibly avert the loss of lives.

Employees sometimes blow the whistle for the following reasons: out of a sense of moral duty to society as a whole; if one wrongful act is visible, then there could be other non-visible wrongful acts occurring (the visible wrongful act might be the 'tip of the iceberg'); if a wrong is allowed to persist without redress, then others may believe they can get away with the same thing; and sometimes whistle blowing is required by law.

by: Simon King

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