“I’ve lost my job after whistleblowing. Can I claim for unfair dismissal?”
If something is being done illegally at work, we should not ‘turn a blind eye’, especially if it’s a health and safety matter, or something that’s damaging to the environment.
You have a legal right to complain about such things. You should not be mistreated as a result, and your job should be safe.
If you ‘blow the whistle’ and lose your job as a result, yes, you can make a claim for unfair dismissal.
That’s what happened to Ann Henderson.
Case study: Whistleblowing unfair dismissal
For nearly 20 years, Ann worked as a senior embryologist at Scotland’s only private IVF clinic, the GCRM Glasgow Fertility Clinic in Cardonald, where she managed the laboratory.
Over time, she warned bosses about staff shortages, lack of staff skill, outdated equipment, and a workload that was too high. She felt this led to fatigue and an “unacceptably high-level risk of errors”. For example, she noted several incidents at the lab, including a mistake in handling patient eggs.
In addition, she felt that hopeful parents were “effectively being misled” about their prospects of success, and suggested the clinic should switch to inseminating fresh eggs rather than using frozen eggs, because the survival rate of eggs after thawing could fall below 50%. The clinic’s medical director, Dr Gaudoin, agreed.
Mark Tomnay, then general manager at owners TFP Fertility, argued that it would involved too much time and money to address these issues, which would impact negatively on patient numbers and the income of the clinic.
However, Ann wouldn’t allow matters to drop and she felt a protected disclosure was in the public interest.
Mark, and Ella Tracey, the TFP managing director, were “heavily motivated to discipline her” and decided it would be better to dismiss Ann, claiming a breakdown in trust and confidence in her ability to run and manage the laboratory.
She was suspended in August 2021 and sacked in February 2022.
Ann took a claim of whistleblowing detriment and unfair dismissal to the employment tribunal. The tribunal “was not satisfied that any element of her conduct was blameworthy”. She won her case, and will receive compensation which will be awarded at a later date.
What is whistleblowing?
The legal definition of whistleblowing is “making a public interest disclosure” about wrongdoing or malpractice at work.
Only certain types of information qualify as disclosures that are in the public interest. These include:
- Criminal offences such as fraud
- If your employer fails to comply with their legal obligations
- If a miscarriage of justice has occurred or is likely to occur
- When the health and safety of any individual is endangered
How to make a public interest disclosure
Don’t attempt to investigate the problem yourself.
Do make notes of your concerns, including what happened and when. Keep copies of all relevant documentation.
There are various ways you can make a public interest disclosure:
First, check your staff handbook to see if your employer has a written whistleblowing procedure. For example, you may be required to tell a manager, Health and Safety manager or representative, or your trade union rep. If there’s a procedure, you should follow it correctly – two wrongs don’t make a right!
You can also disclose unsafe practices to external regulatory organisations. These include:
- The Care Quality Commission (for care homes)
- The Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts (for hospitals)
- The Information Commissioner if your employer is mis-handling personal data
- The Health and Safety Executive if your employer is breaching health and safety regulations
- HMRC and/or the Financial Services Authority, for mis-managed financial and tax matters
- The media and/or police if it’s an exceptionally serious case of misconduct and the disclosure is not made for personal gain
Whoever you tell, let them know if you want your identity to be kept confidential.
Always stick to the facts, and remain calm and rational. Avoid getting emotional and using aggressive language.
As specialist employment lawyers, we can tell you if the disclosure if in the public interest and who you should tell.
What compensation will you get?
If you have suffered detriment because you blew the whistle on some malpractice at work, you can claim compensation for financial losses and injury to feelings. Detriment might include being bullied, missing out on a promotion or training, or being given a poor reference when you leave.
If you were dismissed for whistleblowing, you can claim automatically unfair dismissal, and get compensation which could include a basic award (calculated in the same way as a redundancy payment), plus loss of earnings and compensation for injury to feelings.
What this means to you: Whistleblowing unfair dismissal
If you report malpractice at work, you are protected by law, and it’s wise to take specialist advice as soon as possible.
Based in Northern Ireland and England, we support employees (never employers) across the UK who have suffered mistreatment at work or who’ve been dismissal unfairly. If that’s happened to you, give us a call. The initial conversation is absolutely free.
Related reading: Whistleblowing unfair dismissal
If you’re in this situation, you might find our related articles useful:
- Whistleblowing: Is it worth it?
- Whistleblowing: Are you protected?
- Witnessed malpractice in the workplace? It’s time to blow the whistle!
- Top tips you need to know for whistleblowing
- Unfair dismissal
Need help?
For a FREE assessment of your case, call 0808 168 7288 or complete a Free Online Enquiry.
We have already helped thousands of people to win millions of pounds in compensation.
You have a choice of ways to pay, including ‘no win, no fee’.