Judges entitled to whistleblower protection

Published on: 18/10/2019

#Whistleblowers

The Supreme Court has ruled on the Gilham v Ministry of Justice case and held that while judges could not be classed as workers, it would be a violation of their human rights to exclude them from whistleblowing protections.

The Claimant, who was a judge, had raised concerns regarding unreasonable workloads, administrative failures and the lack of suitable and secure courtrooms. After making these disclosures, the Claimant alleged she was bullied and undermined, resulting in her taking ill health retirement.

As there was no contractual relationship between the Claimant and the Ministry of Justice, she could not be classed as a worker.

However, the Supreme Court found that it would be a breach of the Claimant’s human rights (specifically, her freedom of expression and protection from discrimination in exercising this right) if the whistleblowing protections were not extended to cover those in judicial office.

The decision appears also to have extended protection from whistleblowing detriments to other office holders, such as directors and company secretaries.

The case has now been remitted back to the Employment Tribunal, for a hearing on her claims for whistleblowing detriment and disability discrimination.

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