Can you be sacked for whistle blowing?

If you raise a concern about wrongdoing at work that is in the public interest, this is called whistleblowing. If you’re dismissed for whistleblowing, you can make a claim for automatic unfair dismissal. You don’t need to have worked for your employer for 2 years to make a whistleblowing claim.

What is whistleblowing in management?

A whistleblower is anyone who has and reports insider knowledge of illegal activities occurring in an organization. Whistleblowers can be employees, suppliers, contractors, clients, or any individual who becomes aware of illegal business activities.

Can a company fire an employee for blowing the whistle?

An employer may not fire an employee for blowing the whistle on certain illegal activity. Some laws that prohibit certain types of unethical or illegal corporate behavior explicitly protect employee whistleblowers.

What does it mean to be a whistleblower at work?

Whistleblowing occurs when an employee reports illegal conduct at work that is not related to workplace rights. For example, you are a whistleblower if you report that your company is cooking the books; engaging in shareholder fraud; producing faulty, dangerous, or mislabeled products; or lying on its tax returns.

What happens to people who blow the whistle?

Many whistleblowers end up discharged before they ever made a decision to blow the whistle. Some just did their quality control jobs too well. One day they discovered that the boss did not share their high standards. Others acted from innate moral values when an opportunity arose, and did the right thing without advance thinking.

Is it illegal to retaliate against a whistleblower?

Safety and environmental laws prohibit retaliation against whistleblowers who report violations of those laws. Are employees who oppose conduct that they think is unlawful protected from retaliation if the conduct turns out to be lawful? If done in good faith, yes.

What happens if you blow the whistle on a supervisor?

Before blowing the whistle on a supervisor or manager, it is important to ensure the employee is protected from the action. Even if the person was fired for an unrelated matter, it is imperative that the rights of the worker are protected from retaliation and adverse consequences.

Can a person be fired after being a whistleblower?

When the person has been fired already, he or she may not be affected by these situations unless it is to keep other employers from hiring him or her. The laws may protect the person in these events due to it being similar to workplace retaliation.

Can a company retaliate against an employee who blew the whistle?

If the employer guesses wrong and retaliates against an employee who engaged in no protected activity, that employee might still be able to pursue a claim for retaliation. The protected activity only needs to exist in the mind of the employer to make the employer’s retaliation unlawful. However, in our experience, the employers usually guess right.

Do you think it makes it easier to blow the whistle?

Many assume that the various systems of rewards and protections that are in place meant to encourage whistleblowing would make it easier for people to come forward. And often they do. “But none of those things makes the issue go away,” says Skeel. Deciding whether to blow the whistle is still a tricky matter.