A new judgment pronounced by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) will safeguard the whistleblowers from being victimized by present as well as future employers.

Mr. Paul Elstone started working with Petrotechnics in February 2006. He was responsible for overseeing safety processes and procedures for many clients, including BP. While working with Petrotechnics, he revealed some details about the work to BP, which led to his dismissal from Petrotechnics in June 2008.

He then joined BP in the post of a consultant. However, he was soon informed by BP that the company was not willing to engage him due to the disclosures he had made to them while at Petrotechnics.

The ground for Mr. Elstone’s appeal was whether it was permissible for an employee, who says he is being punished by his present employer for having made a confidential disclosure, to claim protection under Section 47b of the Employment Rights Act 1996 as the disclosure was made to a past employer and not present one. The court concluded that such a claim was permissible according to words used in this Section.

The hearing related to the disclosures made by Mr. Elstone and the nature of his final dismissal is yet to occur.

According to an employment lawyer, this ruling handed down by EAT clarifies the position with respect to safeguarding the rights of whistleblowers, who would have otherwise been wary of the impact of such disclosures on their future.

Cloisters’ barrister Anna Beale represented Paul Elstone in the case. According to Declan O Dempsey, another barrister from the same firm remarked that the judgement reflects a trend towards supporting whistleblowers against the repercussions of making disclosures against their present employer that could result in end of their career.

The ruling will be appreciated by a number of players such as Public Concern At Work, the charity for whistleblowers in addition to the unions.

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