Whistleblowing and protected disclosures
You raised something — about money, safety, regulation, conduct — and your position deteriorated afterwards. Whistleblowing claims have no qualifying period of service and no cap on compensation.
You may be a whistleblower without having thought of yourself as one
The word suggests going to the press. Most protected disclosures are nothing of the sort — they are an email to a line manager, a point raised in a meeting, a concern logged with compliance.
The protection applies where you disclose information you reasonably believe shows one of the following, and that the disclosure is in the public interest:
- A criminal offence
- A failure to comply with a legal obligation
- A miscarriage of justice
- A danger to health and safety
- Damage to the environment
- The deliberate concealment of any of these
Three points that widen this considerably:
What the claim actually is
Two distinct claims, and the difference matters.
That last point is why whistleblowing claims are frequently worth more than anything else available on the same facts. An ordinary unfair dismissal claim is currently capped at £123,543 or 52 weeks’ pay. A dismissal for whistleblowing is not capped at all, and where a career has been ended the difference can be very large.
The difficult part
Causation. It is rarely disputed that you raised something, and rarely disputed that things went badly afterwards. The fight is over whether one caused the other.
Employers generally have an alternative explanation ready — performance, restructuring, a personality difficulty that predated the disclosure. What defeats that is usually documentary: the timing, what was said before and after, inconsistencies in the explanation, and how comparable colleagues were treated.
So the practical advice is the same whether or not you ever bring a claim. Put concerns in writing, keep copies outside work systems, and note dates. People who do this win; people who raised everything verbally struggle.
What we do
Assess whether what you raised is a protected disclosure and whether the treatment is a detriment. Advise on whether to raise it further, and how, without damaging your position. Preserve and organise the evidence. Bring detriment claims while you are still employed where that is the right course, and dismissal claims where it is not.
We also advise on the interaction with settlement agreements. An agreement cannot prevent you making a protected disclosure, and terms purporting to do so are void — but agreements are still drafted that way, and clients sign them believing otherwise.
Time limits
Currently three months less one day from the detriment or dismissal, with Acas early conciliation first. From 1 October 2026 the limit rises to six months for most claims where the act complained of falls on or after that date. Where there is a series of detriments, time generally runs from the last.
Questions
Questions people ask us
I raised it internally, not publicly. Am I protected?
Yes — most protected disclosures are internal. Raising a concern with your employer is the ordinary route and is fully protected.
What if I was wrong about what I reported?
You need a reasonable belief, not correctness. A concern raised reasonably and in good faith can be protected even if it turns out to be mistaken.
Do I need two years' service?
No. There is no qualifying period for whistleblowing detriment or automatically unfair dismissal on that ground.
Can I claim while still employed?
Yes. Detriment claims do not require you to have left, and bringing one while employed is sometimes the right course — though it needs thinking through.
How much is a whistleblowing claim worth?
There is no cap. Compensation covers financial loss for as long as the tribunal accepts it continues, and can include an award for injury to feelings in detriment claims. Where a career in a regulated sector has been ended, awards can be very substantial.
Can my settlement agreement stop me reporting something?
No. A clause purporting to prevent a protected disclosure is void. If you have signed one containing such a term, the term does not bind you — but take advice before acting on that.
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