The Government has announced that the protections available to whistleblowers are to be strengthened further. The proposed amendment to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill will mean that individuals, who make the decision to blow the whistle against their employer, will have protection from instances of bullying or harassment that may come from their co-workers. The current law only offers workers with protection from harassment or bullying by their employer. The amendment will introduce a provision which treats detrimental acts of one co-worker towards another who has blown the whistle, as being done by the employer and therefore makes the employer responsible; and provide a defence for an employer who is able to show that they took all reasonable steps to prevent the detrimental treatment of a co-worker towards another who blew the whistle.
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