Consultation on passing ‘whistleblowing’ claim forms to regulatory bodies
The Government has commenced a consultation exercise on how details of alleged wrongdoing, relied on by whistleblowers in employment tribunal claims, should be forwarded to the appropriate regulator to investigate if necessary.
1,700 ‘whistleblowing’ claims were received by employment tribunals last year. However, the tribunal does not make any assessment or take any action in relation to the underlying allegation of wrongdoing on which the claim is based. The Government believes that the regulators, and not tribunals, have the expertise required to deal with the issues raised.
The Government therefore proposes that tribunals send copies of the claim form, or extracts from it, to the relevant regulator. The relevant regulators would be the same as the prescribed persons listed in the ‘whistleblowing’ provisions. Only those claims where a protected disclosure is identified as an area of jurisdiction, and the claimant has indicated their consent, would be forwarded to the regulator. The respondent would then be notified and the regulator would begin assessing the information on the same basis as information received through normal channels.
The Government is of the view that the proposed process will not cause any delay to the claim, nor allow unsubstantiated allegations
into the public domain. A draft statutory instrument amending the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2004 to grant tribunals the power to refer information to regulators is included in the consultation. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the regulations would come into force in April 2010. The consultation closes on 2 October 2009.
This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. Where employment tribunal and appellate court cases are reported, the information does not set out all of the facts, the legal arguments presented and the judgments made in every aspect of the case. Employment law is subject to constant change either by statute or by interpretation by the courts. While every care has been taken in compiling this information, we cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Specialist legal advice must be taken on any legal issues that may arise before embarking upon any formal course of action.
