Many employers may be deterred from recruiting job applicants who are known to have blown the whistle on previous employers. Oddly, job applicants are not protected by the express wording of the legislation and therefore currently have no legal recourse if a prospective employer rejects them on this basis. That said, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has emphasised that the whistleblowing legislation should, if possible, be interpreted in a way which advances its main purpose, namely protecting those who make a protected disclosure in the public interest. Although there appears to be no sensible way of interpreting the current legislation to protect job applicants, employers should continue to exercise caution in their recruitment procedures in case the situation changes.
Withers LLP
Read original article here