Does the legislation protect an employee who goes directly to the media to blow the whistle?
A Given that to achieve protection the disclosure must be raised in a responsible way, disclosures to the media will only receive protected status in the most extreme circumstances. Certainly the rule of thumb is that such disclosures will not be protected. Q Can employers enter into a compromise agreement or include confidentiality provisions within an employment contract to prevent a worker from whistleblowing? A No, such agreements cannot circumvent the whistleblowing provisions. Q Can private disputes between employer and employee form the basis of a whistleblowing claim? A Common sense would suggest not, as the legislation was introduced to be applicable to disclosures in the public interest. However, case law has determined that the disclosure need not be in the public interest, such as where the disclosure concerns a breach of the whistleblower’s own contract of employment. The effect of this is to create a free-standing right for an individual to bring a victimisation complaint
