At present it is open to an employee who believes that they have been subjected to a detriment or dismissed due to having whistle-blown to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal for a determination of their employment rights.  The Tribunal will not make any assessment or take any action in relation to the allegation itself.  It is open to the employee to bring such allegations to the attention of the regulating body concerned directly, if they wish the allegation itself to be investigated.  Such allegations can include fraud, breaches of health and safety standards and breaches of care home standards.  

The Government has confirmed that they intend to pass regulations which will allow the Employment Tribunal to pass copies or extracts of the employee’s Claim Form containing the whistle-blowing allegation on to the relevant regulator providing that the Claimant consents to this.  The intention is for the procedure to apply to any such form received and accepted by the Tribunal on or after 6 April 2010.  The Claim Form would be altered to allow the Claimant to tick a box to agree to its release by the Tribunal.  The regulators concerned include Local Authorities, the Health and Safety Executive, Care Quality Commission, Financial Services Authority, HM Revenue and Customs and Serious Fraud Office.

The change will not supercede the individual’s right to notify the regulator of the allegation directly, if they wish their identity to remain confidential.  The change is likely to mean more referrals to regulators who will then decide whether to investigate the matter further.  Referrals are to be made before any Response Form has been filed, prompting concerns that some referrals may be based on spurious grounds.  The Tribunal will then notify the parties to whom and when the referral has been made. 

1700 such claim forms were received by the Tribunal last year.  If the Regulations are passed by Parliament, companies may find themselves subject to closer scrutiny by their regulating bodies.  

Posted: January 29th, 2010 under Employment/HR.
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