Who should disclosures be made to?

PIDA was designed to strongly encourage disclosure to the worker’s employer, at least the first time a disclosure is made.

Consequently, a disclosure will be protected if it is made to the worker’s employer (section 43(C)(1)(a), ERA 96). Most large employers have whistleblowing policies. If there is one, it should be followed.

But workers who do not want to make their disclosure to their employer (or who have done this already but nothing seems to have changed) can make it to one of a list of over 60 organisations called “prescribed persons” maintained by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. These are mostly regulators, such as the Health and Safety Executive. The list is periodically updated and published online.

Trade unions are not prescribed persons, so most disclosures to a trade union rep will not be protected unless the employer’s policy clearly provides for disclosures to be made to a trade union.

The design of PIDA very strongly discourages disclosure to the media. The non-statutory Code of Practice says: “if a worker goes to the media, they can expect in most cases to lose their whistleblowing law rights”. Anyone considering making a disclosure, especially to anyone other than their employer, should first contact an expert such as the helpline of Protect, the whistleblowing charity, for free confidential advice.