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Disclosure in previous job
[ch 3: page 14]A worker can pursue a whistleblowing claim against their current employer when they suffer a detriment because of a disclosure that they made while working for a different organisation:
Mr Elstone alleged that he made protected disclosures about safety issues while employed by his former employer, Petrotechnics, which had resulted in his sacking for gross misconduct. Petrotechnics had several clients, including BP. Three days later, Elstone joined BP as a consultant but he was later told by BP that they no longer wanted him. This was because Petrotechnics had told BP that Elstone was sacked for revealing confidential information. The EAT upheld a tribunal’s ruling that Elstone could bring a claim for whistleblowing detriment against BP, based on his disclosure made while working for Petrotechnics.
BP v Elstone [2010] UKEAT/0141/09/DM
This ruling highlights a key defect in PIDA. PIDA protects a worker like Mr Elstone whose contract is ended (even after just a few days in the job) because he made a disclosure while in a previous job. But it does not protect a job applicant (except in the NHS) who is turned down for a job because they made a disclosure in their previous job (see page 16: Job applicants).