Whistleblowing Legislation

Whistleblowing, or public interest disclosure, occurs when a worker discloses information about an alleged wrongdoing on the part of his or her employer or of colleagues, and the matter is in the public interest.

The worker could disclose the wrongdoing:

• internally within his or her organisation using a set procedure

• to one of a number of external regulators or a legal advisor

• more widely if neither of the other options is appropriate.

This topic looks at who is covered by the whistleblowing legislation, explains what qualifying and protected disclosures are, describes the rights of employees who blow the whistle and examines what should be covered in an internal whistleblowing procedure.