Whistleblowing boost

Employment lawyers this week claimed that the findings of a report showing that 10 million a year is paid in compensation to corporate whistleblowers was a sign of the growing culture of workplace whistleblowing and awareness among lawyers.

The report, produced by the charity Public Concern At Work, showed that since the introduction of the Public Interest Disclosure Act in 2000, the 'whistleblowing law', 1,200 compensation claims have been made - 23% of which were successful - with an average award of more than 100,000.

Julian Hemming, partner at Bristol-based Osborne Clarke and chairman of the Employment Lawyers Association, said employees were becoming more confident about whistleblowing in the workplace.

'Many big employers, in particular, are introducing whistleblowing policies to encourage employees to come forward,' he said.

'This is good policy for employers, because if the issues come to the foreground early, then it will prevent someone from getting hurt or bringing a claim against the company.'

He also said that many companies were settling whistleblowing claims at an early stage in order to save management time and avoid lengthy and potentially embarrassing court battles.

Leading employment lawyer Jane Mann, a partner at City firm Fox Williams, suggested that the increased number of cases could be because lawyers were becoming more familiar with the Public Interest Disclosure Act and encouraging their clients to bring claims.

Victoria MacCallum