Whistleblowing confusion
The question of to what extent a detriment is caused by a
protected disclosure in the context of the whistleblowing
legislation has been the subject of conflicting EAT decisions. The
Court of Appeal in NHS Manchester v Fecitt has now ruled that
section 47B of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (which protects a
worker against suffering a detriment on the grounds of his having
made a protected disclosure) is infringed if a protected disclosure
materially (ie more than trivially) influences the detrimental
treatment.
This case concerned three nurses who had raised concerns about
the qualifications of a colleague. The matter was investigated and
dismissed but the nurses continued to raise the issue, causing
dissension amongst their colleagues, some who sided with the
nurses, some with the accused colleague and some who wished to
remain out of the dispute. Working relationships deteriorated so
badly that managers decided to strip one nurse of her
