UK: allegation of defamation can be protected whistleblowing disclosure

The EAT in Ibrahim v HCA International has confirmed that an employee's disclosure complaining of false rumours circulating about him was an allegation of failure to comply with a legal obligation (ie, defamation). It was therefore capable of amounting to a qualifying disclosure for the purposes of whistleblowing protection, notwithstanding the employee's failure to use precise legal terminology, given the substance of his complaint was clear. However, the EAT held that, on the facts, the claim failed, as the employee did not have a subjective belief that his disclosure was in the public interest.

Update: the Court of Appeal has since upheld an appeal against the latter part of the EAT ruling. The tribunal had failed to appreciate that motive (in this case, to clear one's name) and a genuine subjective belief in public interest are not the same thing, and the tribunal should have directly asked the claimant whether at the time of his disclosures he believed he was acting in the public interest. The case was remitted to determine the claimant's belief.