- Recent case law has highlighted scope for the courts to extend the definition of ‘worker’ for whistleblowing purposes by applying human rights principles.
- However, these cases show the need for wider-reaching reform .
From the outset, it has been recognised that the legal protection for whistleblowers in the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), Pt IVA should not be confined to employees and ‘limb (b)’ workers (ie, non-employee workers who have entered into a contract to perform work personally (ERA 1996, s 230(3)(b)).
ERA 1996, s 43K extends the standard ERA 1996 definition of ‘worker’ for whistleblowing purposes. Over the years, successive amendments have created a complex web of provisions, but the core elements address the position of agency workers and that of individual contractors, providing their services are part of a business rather than in a personal capacity (s 43K(1)(a) and (b)). There are also provisions protecting certain categories of work experience students, and a raft of provisions dealing with service providers
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