Discrimination against whistleblowers in the U.K. has risen to such a level that the government may need to actively pursue plans to afford greater legal protection, as well as introduce financial awards to compensate for their “career suicide.”
Read our insights and media coverage
Welcome to Bloomsbury Square Employment Law Newsroom, the place to find all the latest news and information from our business, our clients and the Employment Law world.
For all media enquiries click here
In The News
Insights
In The News
U.K. whistleblower protections, awards needed to compensate ‘career suicide’
Police force that discriminated against white officers ‘considering next steps’
Will Burrows share his comments around: Thames Valley Police promoted an ethnic minority sergeant ‘without any competitive assessment process taking place’, a tribunal found.
HMRC worker sent unwanted birthday card wins harassment claim at tribunal
A birthday card sent to a worker on sick leave who “clearly explained” she wanted correspondence to be kept to a minimum during that time contributed to a “hostile and intimidating environment” amounting to harassment relating to a disability, a Croydon tribunal has ruled. Chris Hogg shares his comments.
Hirer Beware – Restrictive Covenants and what it means
Chris Hogg, Partner at Bloomsbury Square Employment Law gives an insight into restrictive covenants and what they mean for recruiters.
AI incident reporting shortcomings leave regulatory safety hole
Failures in generative AI can have safety-critical consequences, so why isn’t the technology being monitored in the same way as other safety-critical technologies such as aviation or medicine? – Will Burrows shares his views with CIO
Insights
The word ex gratia comes from Latin meaning by favour. Often employers will dress up their offer of an ex gratia payment to say that it is within their gift and suggest that they are being generous. Whilst it is accurate that there is a discretion on the part of the employer, the ex gratia offer is not usually about doing you a favour.
Whilst the majority of workers would be keen to whistleblow if they saw wrongdoing, over half (51%) of the UK’s workforce would not feel safe disclosing to their employer if they believed the company was breaking the law.
Settlement agreements are usually offered by an employer as a means of settling a dispute or to offer favourable financial terms to an employee to leave employment. In assessing whether a settlement agreement is the right decision for you, it is necessary to consider the alternatives.
Employers tend to use the terms “without prejudice” and “protected conversation” interchangeably when making an offer to terminate an employee’s employment with a financial offer, but they are separate legal concepts.
Simple guide to ex gratia payments, its purpose in settling disputes, the potential legal implications written by a top lawyer specialising in Ex Gratia advice