European whistleblower protection: tiers or tears?

Vandekerckhove, Wim (2010) European whistleblower protection: tiers or tears? In: A Global Approach to Public Interest Disclosure. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK / Northampton, MA, USA, pp. 15-35. ISBN 9781848448995

Abstract

This chapter offers an assessment of whistleblower protection in countries throughout Europe. The assessment is made against a 'three-tiered model' derived from the UK Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA). Although the sole stated purpose of the UK PIDA is to protect the whistleblower, I argue that the successive recipient tiers make previous tiers accountable for investigating and dealing with suspected wrongdoing, thereby serving other purposes than mere protection. As protection often takes the form of creating a ground to claim compensation for the retaliation suffered - and not, for example, granting the right to reinstatement - these secondary purposes should not be underestimated.

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