What if there is no contract?

If there is no contract at all, there can be no protection under PIDA. This is why, in Sharpe v Bishop of Worcester [2015] EWCA Civ 399, a parish rector was unable to claim whistleblowing protection. There was no contract of any kind, express or implied, between Reverend Sharpe and the Bishop of Worcester, so his claim failed.

In Gilham v Ministry of Justice [2017] EWCA Civ 2220, the Court of Appeal ruled that District Judge Gilham was not a worker because there was no contract between a judge and the Ministry of Justice or the Lord Chancellor. Instead, the functions of a district judge derive from statute. Gilham disclosed concerns about poor and unsafe working conditions and an excessive workload at the courts where she worked. She was denied whistleblowing rights as a result of her employment status. The case has been appealed to the Supreme Court and judgment is awaited as this booklet goes to press.