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Protections for whistleblowing and non-disclosure agreements

Whistleblowing law

The legal framework for whistleblowing protections is contained in Part 4A of the Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. These protections apply across Great Britain, including England, Scotland and Wales. Employment law is devolved in Northern Ireland.

This framework protects workers who disclose information about malpractice at their workplace, or former workplace, provided certain conditions are met. The conditions concern the nature of the information disclosed and the person to whom it is disclosed. If these conditions are met, the act protects the worker from suffering detriment or dismissal due to having made the disclosure. If the conditions are not met a disclosure may constitute a breach of the worker’s duty of confidence to his employer.

These rights are enforceable through the employment tribunal system. The Library publishes a briefing on Making a claim to an employment tribunal.

Non-disclosure agreements

A “non-disclosure agreement” is a confidentiality clause in a contract, typically in a type of contract known as a “settlement agreement”. A settlement agreement is a legally binding contract between an employer and an employee, which is usually used to resolve a workplace dispute or at the end of an employment contract. A settlement agreement is usually accompanied by a payment to the worker, who waives their entitlement to pursue any legal claims against the employer. A non-disclosure agreement cannot prevent a worker from making a protected disclosure.

Recent reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025

The Employment Rights Act 2025 made two significant changes regarding whistleblowing protections and the use of non-disclosure agreements in cases of sexual harassment:

• Section 23 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 amended section 43B of the Employment Rights Act 1996 so that information relating to sexual harassment qualifies as a “qualifying disclosure” for the purposes of whistleblowing protections, provided that the information is disclosed by a protected person using the correct legal procedure. Section 23 came into force on 7 April 2026.
• Section 24 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 inserted a new section into the Employment Rights Act 1996 which voids any provision in an agreement between an employer and a worker (such as a settlement agreement) that prevents the worker from speaking about relevant harassment or discrimination.

Section 24 is not yet in force. The government consulted on how the provisions in section 24 should be implemented between 15 April and 8 July 2026.

Whistleblowing in the NHS

NHS workers can get advice on whistleblowing from the freephone Speak Up Direct Helpline on 08000 724 725 or Speak Up website. They can also speak to their organisation’s Freedom to Speak up Guardian.

Support and advice

The Library briefing Legal advice and help in employment matters provides information on appropriate sources of professional legal advice relevant to whistleblowing law.

Protect

Protect is a charity which offers legal advice about whistleblowing. Protect has guidance on whistleblowing law for both workers and employers.

Protect also operates a confidential advice line, supervised by lawyers, which provides free advice on whistleblowing law and how best to raise whistleblowing concerns.

Acas

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) has a series of guidance pages on whistleblowing at work, including guidance for workers on how to make a whistleblowing disclosure and for employers on responding to a whistleblowing disclosure and having a whistleblowing policy.

Acas also operates a confidential helpline of free advice on all aspects of employment law, including whistleblowing.