14th November 2016

Whistleblowing protection for those applying for jobs in the children’s social care sector

‘Whistleblowing protection’ refers to the protection afforded to employees and workers when they make a disclosure about their employer’s wrongdoing. They are protected from being victimised, dismissed or being treated detrimentally because they have made that disclosure. Whistleblowing protection is currently only available to employees and workers and does not extend to applicants.

The Government has recently announced new legal protection for those applying for jobs in the children’s social care sector.

Currently, those who work in the children’s social care sector could be treated unfairly when applying for a new role if they have previously made a protected disclosure. To try and ensure these applicants are not treated unfairly, they will be afforded whistle blowing protection under the Employment Rights Act. This protection will be brought in under the Children and Social Work Bill 2016-2017.

The Government has also announced it is going to review its whistleblowing Code of Practice for employers by the end of 2017.

For any queries on whistleblowing and related queries, please contact Linda Wilson on 01730 268211 or at .