Who should disclosures be made to

[ch 2: pages 10-11]

PIDA is designed to strongly encourage disclosure to the employer. If not, the information should be disclosed to one of a list of external bodies which PIDA terms “prescribed persons”. The worker making the disclosure must reasonably believe both that the information disclosed is substantially true and that they are reporting to the correct regulator (section 43F (1)(b), ERA 96).

The “prescribed persons” are mainly regulators. The government publishes a list available from its website, which is updated from time to time. There are some surprising omissions, and anyone contemplating reporting a concern to an external organisation or person should take advice and check the list carefully.

Disclosures can also be made to MPs and to legal advisers while seeking legal advice.

Trade union reps are not “prescribed persons”, so unless the employer’s whistleblowing policy specifically permits reporting to a trade union rep, a disclosure to a union is unlikely to be protected by PIDA.

PIDA is designed to strongly discourage disclosure to outside organisations such as the media. The Guidance for Employers published by the government alongside the Whistleblowing Code of Practice says: “if a worker goes to the media, they can expect in most cases to lose their whistleblowing law rights”.

There is more detailed information about who the disclosure should be made to in Chapter 5.