The Public Interest Disclosure Act protects whistleblowers who have reasonable grounds for their belief. Even if you know they are mistaken, if their belief was reasonable then they will be protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act and you must respect their rights as a whistleblower. 

 

 

The disclosure must be in the public interest. However, this does not need to be the sole or main motivating factor in the disclosure. A whistleblower who was not purely motivated by the public interest will still be protected. 

 

The individual is unlikely to be protected as a whistleblower if they were dishonest or made the disclosure for personal gain. For example, if they were paid by the press for a story or made up the allegation to gain protection as a whistleblower, this is unlikely to be a protected disclosure. 

 

If you have grounds to believe that the disclosure was made dishonestly or for personal gain, it is sensible to seek legal advice before acting on the belief. 

 

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) cannot overrule whistleblowing legislation or rights to make protected disclosures. You will not be able to enforce a clause that attempts to prevent somebody making a protected disclosure, even if they signed a contract or agreement that includes non-disclosure provisions. We recommend seeking legal advice for all non-disclosure agreements, given that they have been subject to some controversy. We can help you to draft legal and ethical non-disclosure agreements, and advise on when they can be used. 

 

If you dismiss or penalise an employee for breaking an NDA, but their disclosure is found to fall under the Public Information Disclosure Act, then the treatment will be in breach of the Public Interest Disclosure Act and you could be ordered to pay damages. We can also advise you on whether existing non-disclosure agreements apply, or if the Public Interest Disclosure Act affects your dispute.