Our Service for Whistleblowers
As an employee, you may be obliged to raise a concern about your employer’s practices at some point in your career. In so doing, you may require advice regarding how to blow the whistle so that you qualify for relevant whistleblower protections. You may also be worried about the repercussions of blowing the whistle and require advice on any detriment suffered as a consequence.
Our Employment lawyers are very experienced in advising individuals on the rights and protections afforded to whistleblowers. We also assist whistleblowers in asserting their rights not to be unfairly and unlawfully treated as a consequence of having made a protected disclosure in the public interest, including suffering detriment or dismissal.
Examples of whistleblowing include:
- Criminal offences;
- Breach of any legal obligation;
- Miscarriages of justice;
- Danger to the health and safety of any individual;
- Damage to the environment; or
- The deliberate concealing of information about any of the above.
Who Our Employment Lawyers Work For
If you're a high-level executive, board member, partner, or professional, we possess the expertise required to assist you in whistleblowing while safeguarding your reputation and career prospects.
Sometimes, employees face adverse treatment at work following a whistleblowing event. Should you encounter any of the following, please get in touch:
- Modifications to your role, limiting your responsibilities, or a demotion
- Termination of employment
- Bullying, harassment or hostile treatment
- Withholding of benefits and bonuses
- Unfounded allegations of subpar performance
- Coercion into resigning
We're here to guide you through internal grievance procedures and represent your interests to your employer. In cases where the work environment deteriorates to the point of untenability, we're also on hand to negotiate a fair severance package for you.
Our Whistleblowing Experience
- Advising a senior executive of a listed business in relation to a dispute with his employer, including allegations that he had been treated less favourably for raising whistleblowing concerns.
- Defending whistleblowing allegations raised in the Employment Tribunal by a solicitor against a national law firm.
- Dealing with an Employment Tribunal claim where allegations of financial irregularities had been raised by the Finance Director, and he had been dismissed as a result.
Why Work With Our Employment Team?
Our specialist team of employment solicitors is described in the independent Legal 500 directory as “excellent” and is highly recommended by clients and legal professionals in the Legal 500. Therefore, you can be reassured that you will deal with some of the best employment solicitors in the country.
In particular, our employment lawyers offer:
- City centre standards of employment law advice and service levels due to our policy of recruiting only the best specialist employment solicitors.
- Clear and straightforward UK employment law advice that is user-friendly, pragmatic, and commercial.
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We are proud to have been recognised as the “Employment Team of the Year” at the prestigious Manchester Legal Awards 2024.
- Extensive experience in advising various employees including senior executives, directors and partners with complex employment contracts and service agreements.
- A credible team of employment law solicitors that are used to dealing with and providing legal representation against large employers and law firms on behalf of our clients.
- A partner-led service and a genuinely accessible team of experienced employment law solicitors due to our size, structure, and unique culture.
- Cost-effective support tailored to your unique employment issues and certainty on costs where you need it.
Testimonials
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Whistleblower?
Employment law provides wide-ranging protection for whistleblowers at work.
To achieve whistleblower protection, individuals must ensure that they reasonably believe the disclosure is in the public interest, has relevant content, and has been raised in an appropriate manner. Whistleblowers will also need to consider whether to use any internal whistleblowing policy that the employer has adopted.
How are whistleblowers protected?
Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, whistleblowers are protected from unfair dismissal (including constructive dismissal). This means that if you are dismissed or forced to resign because of your whistleblowing, you have been unfairly dismissed and are entitled to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal.
Can you be awarded compensation for blowing the whistle?
Whistleblowers are also entitled to compensation in the Employment Tribunal if they are subjected to a detriment as a result of blowing the whistle. This could include, for example, being subjected to disciplinary action, a demotion or the loss of a benefit as a result of making a disclosure.
The level of protection afforded to whistleblowers is higher than the norm and includes the following:
- No qualifying period of employment is required to make a whistleblowing claim;
- Employment Tribunal awards are unlimited and can include awards for “injury to feelings” similar to those made in discrimination cases. There are a number of examples where whistleblowers have been awarded compensation in the hundreds of thousands of pounds;
- The protection is afforded not only to employees but also to former employees, directors, contractors, agency workers and some partners and LLP members.
Where can you find more information about Employment Tribunal claims?
You can find more information about our Employment Tribunal service and costs information here.
Meet Our Employment Solicitors
Home-grown or recruited from national, regional or City firms. Our employment lawyers are experts in their fields and respected by their peers.
Charlotte Gilbert
Charlotte is the Head of Myerson HR and a Partner in our Employment Team
Contact Our Experts
You can contact our lawyers below if you have any more questions or want more information:
0161 941 4000
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