What is protected
A disclosure is protected if it meets three tests.
- It discloses information, not only an allegation or opinion.
- You reasonably believe it tends to show one of the listed kinds of wrongdoing: a crime, a breach of a legal obligation, a miscarriage of justice, a danger to health or safety, environmental damage, or deliberate concealment of any of them. Since April 2026 the list expressly includes that sexual harassment has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur.
- You reasonably believe it is in the public interest, and it is made to an appropriate person: normally your employer, or a prescribed regulator.
You do not have to be right. You need a reasonable belief. You do not have to use the word "whistleblowing" or follow a policy.
Your rights
- Not to be dismissed. If the disclosure is the reason or principal reason for dismissal, the dismissal is automatically unfair.
- Not to suffer detriment. Being sidelined, denied promotion, disciplined or bullied because of a disclosure is unlawful. Workers as well as employees are covered.
- No qualifying service and no cap on compensation.
- Injury to feelings in detriment claims, using the same bands as discrimination.
- Personal liability for colleagues who subject you to detriment.
Interim relief
If you are dismissed and believe the reason is whistleblowing, you can ask a tribunal for interim relief. If the tribunal thinks you are likely to win, it can order the employer to keep paying your salary until the full hearing. The application must be made within seven days of the effective date of termination. That deadline is very short, so take advice immediately.
How whistleblowing changes a settlement
Employers take these claims seriously for three reasons: the compensation is uncapped, the underlying wrongdoing may come out in a public hearing, and regulators may become involved. That gives you leverage in negotiation.
Use it carefully. Saying you will report the employer to a regulator or the press unless you are paid can be characterised as an improper threat. The Acas Code makes an exception where the threat relates to a protected disclosure, but the line is fine. Let your claim speak for itself, and keep any report you intend to make separate from the negotiation.
Note also that the protected conversation rule does not apply to automatically unfair dismissal, so settlement discussions may be admissible in a whistleblowing case.
What the agreement can and cannot do
You can settle your claim for how you were treated. You cannot be stopped from making protected disclosures, past or future. Section 43J of the Employment Rights Act 1996 makes any such term void. A sound agreement includes an express carve-out saying nothing in it prevents you from:
- making a protected disclosure;
- reporting a criminal offence to the police;
- co-operating with a regulator or law enforcement;
- giving evidence in court.
If the draft lacks this, ask for it to be added. Clauses requiring you to warrant that you have made no disclosures, or know of no wrongdoing, should be read closely with your adviser. See confidentiality clauses and NDAs.
Evidence
Record what you disclosed, to whom, when and how. Keep copies of your own disclosure emails. Note what changed afterwards and when. Timing is often the strongest evidence of the link between a disclosure and the treatment that followed.
Do not copy large volumes of confidential documents to prove your point. Taking documents beyond what is reasonably needed can be a disciplinary matter in itself and can undermine your claim.
Time limits
For dismissals and detriments on or after 1 October 2026, you have six months less a day to contact Acas. For earlier events, three months less a day. Interim relief keeps its own seven-day limit. See timescales and deadlines.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as whistleblowing?
Disclosing information that you reasonably believe shows a criminal offence, a breach of a legal obligation, a miscarriage of justice, danger to health and safety, environmental damage or a cover-up of any of these, and that you reasonably believe is in the public interest.
Can a settlement agreement stop me reporting to a regulator?
No. That part of any clause would be void. A properly drafted agreement says so expressly.
Does a complaint about my own contract count?
Usually not, because it lacks a public interest element. It may count if the issue affects a group of workers or the wider public.
Can I still whistleblow after signing?
Yes. You waive the right to bring a claim about past treatment, not the right to make protected disclosures.
Sources
About this guide. This page is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the law and published government plans on the date shown above. Frederick George is a legal referral service, not a law firm. For advice on your own circumstances we will introduce you to an SRA-regulated solicitor.