Protected disclosures

Q: A member has been threatened with dismissal after making a complaint about financial irregularities at work. He has been there less than a year, so is there anything he can do if he is dismissed?

A: The complaint could amount to a "protected disclosure" under Part IVA of the Employment Rights Act 1996. This protects workers making public-interest disclosures from any detriment or dismissal resulting from that disclosure. A dismissal for this reason is automatically unfair, and the individual does not need to have a year's service in order to claim.

A qualifying disclosure is disclosure of information that "in the reasonable belief" of the worker tends to show some form of wrongdoing specified in the act - for example, that a person has failed, is failing or is likely to fail to comply with any legal obligation.

As long as the employee makes the disclosure in "good faith" (and not to advance a personal grudge, for example), they will be protected.