Protected Disclosures Act 2014

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PART 3

Protections

Protection of employees from dismissal for having made protected disclosure

11. (1) The Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 is amended—

(a) in section 1 by inserting the following definitions:

“ ‘protected disclosure’ has the meaning given by the Protected Disclosures Act 2014;

‘relevant wrongdoing’ has the meaning given by the Protected Disclosures Act 2014;”;

(b) in section 6 by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (b) of subsection (2):

“(ba) the employee having made a protected disclosure,”;

(c) in section 6 by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2C):

“(2D) Sections 3 and 4 do not apply to a case falling within paragraph (ba) of subsection (2) and that paragraph applies to a person who would otherwise be excluded from this Act by any of paragraphs (a) to (c) and (e) to (k) of section 2(1).”;

(d) in section 7 by inserting the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) In relation to a case falling within section 6(2)(ba) the reference in subsection (1)(c)(i) to 104 weeks has effect as if it were a reference to 260 weeks.”;

and

(e) in section 7 by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2A):

“(2B) Where—

(a) the dismissal of an employee results wholly or mainly from the employee having made a protected disclosure, and

(b) the investigation of the relevant wrongdoing concerned was not the sole or main motivation for making the disclosure,

the amount of compensation that is just and equitable may be up to 25 per cent less than the amount that it would otherwise be.”.

(2) Schedule 1 contains provisions for interim relief in cases where a claim is brought for redress for a dismissal which is an unfair dismissal by virtue of section 6(2)(ba) (inserted by subsection (1)) of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 .