As originally published on Proskauer’s Whistleblower Defense blog, in the UK, whistleblowing law is based on a statute prohibiting a “worker” being dismissed or subjected to any other detriment because of having made a “protected disclosure”. Until recently, the general view was that the definition of “worker”, and therefore whistleblowing protection, did not extend to partners. There were many reasons for this view, such as the fact that discrimination legislation (which protects partners as well as other workers), is, in contrast to whistleblowing legislation, explicit as to its application to partners. However, this week, a landmark Supreme Court decision, Clyde & Co. LLP v. Van Winkelhof (overturning a decision of the Court of Appeal) held that partners were “workers” and therefore legislation protecting whistleblowers applies to partners in the same way that it applies to employees. This decision has some very significant consequences, especially in the financial and professional services industries where so many individuals are engaged as partners.
To read the blog post in its original entirety, please visit: UK Whistleblower Protection Extended to Partners.