5. Who should the disclosure be made to?
[ch 5: page 30]Chapter 4 looked at the tests that are used to decide whether the content of a disclosure and the motivation of its maker meet the legal requirements for protection. This Chapter looks at another key aspect of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA), namely how and to whom a disclosure must be made in order to secure legal protection.
As with all aspects of PIDA, the law is very complicated. Before making any disclosure, it is sensible to ask for advice from union solicitors or a whistleblowing charity (see Further information, page 55) and to carefully check the employer’s whistleblowing policy (see Chapter 7).
The structure of PIDA is designed to strongly encourage workers to disclose suspected wrongdoing to their own employer, at least the first time they make the disclosure, by following the employer’s policy if there is one.