Who it is for
All employers. It covers employees, workers, agency workers, contractors and consultants.
What it covers
- What counts as a qualifying disclosure, in plain English.
- How whistleblowing differs from a personal grievance, and where they overlap.
- How to raise a concern internally, and what managers must do when someone raises one with them.
- Confidentiality and anonymous reports.
- Protection from detriment, and what happens to anyone who victimises a whistleblower.
- How you will handle the concern, and external routes including prescribed persons.
The law it reflects
Checked against the law in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) as at 19 October 2026.
- Part 4A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (added by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998) protects disclosures the worker reasonably believes are in the public interest and tend to show wrongdoing.
- Since 6 April 2026, reporting sexual harassment can be a protected disclosure (whistleblowing) under the Employment Rights Act 1996, s.43B(1)(da). The person raising it, and anyone who supports them, is protected from detriment.
- A term in a contract or settlement agreement cannot stop someone making a protected disclosure (Employment Rights Act 1996, s.43J). In England and Wales, such an agreement also cannot stop a victim of crime reporting it to the police or getting advice (Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, s.17).
- Employees and workers are protected from their first day. Dismissing an employee because they made a protected disclosure is automatically unfair.
Before you use it
It is a starting point, not legal advice. Fill in the placeholders, set your own timescales, and check it fits how your organisation actually works. Take advice if a case is complex, could involve discrimination, or may end up at a tribunal. Northern Ireland has different rules in several areas.
Need more? See the Grievance Process Pack. 15 documents: policy, leaders' guidance covering bullying, harassment and whistleblowing, outcome and appeal letters, an investigation plan and a mediation agreement. £79 + VAT, one-off.