What counts as a protected disclosure
Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (which amended ERA 1996), a worker is protected if they make a "qualifying disclosure" — meaning information they reasonably believe tends to show in the public interest one of:
- A criminal offence
- A breach of legal obligation
- A miscarriage of justice
- A danger to health or safety
- Damage to the environment
- Deliberate concealment of any of the above
The disclosure must be made to a prescribed person — usually your employer, but other regulators (HMRC, FCA, HSE, CQC, ICO) qualify depending on the subject.
What protection you get
- No detriment — your employer must not subject you to any detriment for blowing the whistle (no demotion, isolation, loss of pay, etc.).
- Automatic unfair dismissal — if you are dismissed (or selected for redundancy) for whistleblowing, the dismissal is automatically unfair, regardless of service length.
- No qualifying period. From day one.
- No cap on compensation for whistleblowing dismissal (unlike ordinary unfair dismissal).
What's not protected
- Personal grievances about your own employment (e.g. "my manager is rude to me") unless the situation has a public-interest dimension.
- Disclosures that breach legal professional privilege.
- Disclosures made in bad faith — though "reasonable belief" is what matters legally, motive can affect the size of any award.
Practical steps
Document everything in writing. Keep copies off-system. Tell your manager and HR in writing where you can. If reporting externally, identify the prescribed regulator for the subject before sending.