Whistleblowers to be protected from harassment by co-workers

The change will make employers responsible for "detrimental acts" of co-workers against colleagues who blow the whistle, by treating those actions as being done by the employer. Similar provisions already exist under equality legislation, where employers can be found 'vicariously liable' for the discriminatory acts of their employees. Employers that can show that they took "all reasonable steps" to prevent that behaviour will not be liable, the Government said.

Employment minister Jo Swinson said that the change would have no impact on "good employers who see it as their responsibility to make sure their staff have a good working environment".

"The protection offered by whistleblowing legislation is strong but there are always ways to improve it," she said. "This amendment takes into account recent events and will place whistleblowers, who are making a difficult decision, in a better position. They will now have a specific employment protection in place and be able to have the full force of a tribunal behind them if they suffer any detriment, bullying or harassment from a co-worker."

The new rule will be introduced as an amendment to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which is currently before Parliament. If passed in its current form the Bill will introduce several changes to the whistleblowing rules. These include replacing the current requirement that a disclosure must be made in "good faith" in order to be able to benefit from legal protections with giving tribunals a discretionary power to reduce compensation awards where a disclosure has not been made in good faith as recently announced in the House of Lords, and strengthening public interest requirements.

The term 'whistleblowing' refers to an employee telling a prescribed person or a person in authority at their employer about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring within an organisation or company. Whistleblowers may make their allegations to other parties within the company, known as 'internal' whistleblowing, or to external regulators, law enforcement or to the media in limited circumstances.

Legal protection for whistleblowers was introduced in the UK in 1999 as an amendment to the Employment Rights Act. The rules protect employees who make disclosures of certain types of information, including evidence of illegal activity or damage to the environment, from retribution by their employers such as dismissal or being passed over for promotion. In addition, where an employee is dismissed for making a protected disclosure, this dismissal is automatically unfair.

The amendment follows a number of press reports in recent weeks about whistleblowers that were threatened or blacklisted by colleagues. Gary Walker, the former chief executive of United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust, appeared on the BBC Today programme earlier this month to allege that he was forced out of his job in 2010 for putting safety ahead of targets. Walker claimed that he had been forced to sign a compromise agreement in which he was paid a cash sum on the understanding that he did not discuss patient safety issues publically.

Earlier this month, Robert Francis published his final report into poor standards of patient care at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. Among his recommendations, he called for NHS staff who raise "honestly held concerns" about standards or safety to be "supported and protected from any adverse consequences".