Umbrella and Personal Service Companies

Workers who contract through another entity, such as an umbrella company or a personal service company, can bring a whistleblowing claim in the employment tribunal if they suffer a detriment as a result of their protected disclosure, despite the lack of a direct contractual relationship. This means that organisations cannot escape liability by using “false substitution clauses” or by insisting that workers provide their services and receive payment through an umbrella company (Croke v Hydro Aluminium Worcester Limited [2007] ICR 1303).

In addition, a member of a limited liability partnership is a “worker” for the purposes of whistleblowing protection (Bates van Winkelhof v Clyde & Co [2014] IRLR 641).