Whistle Blowing And The "Public Interest"

Is it enough that a worker believes a disclosure is in the public interest?  In the recent case of Okwu v. Rise Community Action, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered whether it is sufficient for whistle blowing protection for an employee to have a reasonable belief that their disclosure is in the public interest.

Facts of the case

Ms Okwu was an employee of Rise Community Action (Rise), a small charity providing support for individuals affected by domestic violence, female genital mutilation or HIV. She was employed as a domestic violence and female genital mutilation specialist worker and her contract was initially subject to a three-month probation period.

Due to performance concerns, Rise extended Ms Okwu's probation period for a further three months. Ms Okwu subsequently wrote to Rise raising a number of concerns, including that it was acting in breach of the Data Protection Act by failing to provide her with her own mobile phone with secure