By law (the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998), you can make a whistleblowing disclosure to one of the following:
- your employer
- a legal adviser
- government ministers – this only applies if you work for a statutory body
- another person who is responsible for the wrongdoing
- a prescribed person or body
- any other person or body if there’s a good reason to, or if it’s related to an ‘exceptionally serious failure’ – for example, the police or media
You must also make sure your disclosure is made with ‘reasonable belief’ and is:
- a qualifying disclosure
- in the public interest
When making a disclosure, it’s good practice to consider the list in order. But there might be cases when you do not want to go to your employer first.
You will have to meet more requirements if you make a disclosure to someone further down the list. The only exception to this is legal advisers, who you can speak to at any time.
The Professional Social Worker: An essential text for all social workers