Advice

We cannot provide direct advice only the value of our own experiences.

However, if you do require advice we can help you to find it and recommend the following:

• Are you a whistleblower – do you need employment advice? Click here to read more on your rights and to contact Chris Benson at Leigh Day & Co.

• Have you suffered an injury through the healthcare you have received? We would advise you to contact AvMA (Action against Medical Accidents) the independent charity which promotes better patient safety and justice for people who have been affected by a medical accident. Call the AvMA helpline on 0845 123 23 52.

We cannot be held responsible for any advice given by third parties.

In addition the following are excellent resources to assist and guide you in the right direction and taking the right steps.

Twelve steps to safer whistleblowing –  See article by Roger Kline

Duty_of_Care_handbook_April_2013

Employment Rights Act (*ERA”) 1996

Individuals should be aware that under the Employment Rights Act 1996 statutory protection is provided to employees who make a disclosure in the public interest.

Contractual duties of confidentiality in the Act states:

1. Any provision in an agreement to which this section applies is void in so far as it purports to preclude the worker from making a protected disclosure.

2. This section applies to any agreement between a worker and his employer (whether a worker’s contract or not), including an agreement to refrain from instituting or continuing any proceedings under this Act or any proceedings for breach of contract.

In summary this means it is absolutely clear that any clause in terms of employment or contractual agreements, including severance agreements, which conflict with the protection afforded by the Act, will be made void by an Employment Tribunal or the Courts.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act

The above act came into force on 26 April 2013. The Act introduced a number of changes targeted at encouraging organisations to promote a culture of openness and transparency.

The first of these changes came into force on 25 June 2013 which included:

• extending employer accountability where staff are subjected to bullying or harassment from co-workers as a result of them reporting a concern
• introducing a defence for those employers who can demonstrate that they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent any such victimisation