I reported a colleague’s behaviour. Is it whistleblowing?
If you have observed a colleague behaving in a way that causes a risk to public health and safety, or doing something illegal at work, the right thing to do is report it.
This is known as making a public interest disclosure or ‘whistleblowing’.
If you make a public interest disclosure and are then dismissed or suffer detriment, you could make a claim at the employment tribunal and be awarded compensation.
That’s what happened to a former manager at Sainsbury’s. Here’s the story…
Whistleblowing: £60,000 award
Miss Oziel joined Sainsbury’s in 2016 as a Customer Trading Manager at the East Finchley store.
Mr Henderson, who has Asperger’s, also worked there at a lower grade. He wasn’t a direct report of hers, and most of the time they worked on opposite shifts.
In 2021, she spoke to him about not having performed his allocated tasks. In response, he swore at her, and customers and colleagues heard him describing her as a “f*cking b*tch”.
She raised a grievance, and store manager, Mr Galvin, held an investigation. This resulted in a letter requesting “no further incidents” but no other action was taken.
In 2023, shoplifters attacked Miss Oziel which caused bleeding gums and bruises on her face and arms. She asked her boss for a reduction in her hours but this didn’t happen and she was given no support by the store.
On another date that year, Mr Henderson told a colleague three times to “f*ck off”, and used the F-word in front of a customer. He also threatened to bring an imitation gun to work, in order to intimidate Miss Oziel.
Later that week, he cornered her in a windowless office, making offensive comments and pointing at her aggressively. She repeatedly asked him to leave, and then turned on her bodycam in an attempt to deter him. He left, then returned to swear at her again.
Ms Oziel reported Mr Henderson to Mr Galvin, who no longer managed the store. He laughed when he heard she was scared of Mr Henderson and that he’d threatened her with an imitation gun. Mr Galvin told her she was too emotional and took things too seriously.
Nevertheless, Mr Henderson was suspended for swearing, raising his voice, and acting aggressively towards his colleagues. The imitation gun threat wasn’t mentioned.
Ms Hayes handled the disciplinary action. After a meeting with Mr Henderson, she concluded that no further action would be taken. Once again, there was no mention of the imitation gun threat.
Mr Henderson instigated a separate ‘fair treatment’ investigation, which found that managers should have supported him due to his condition.
The new store manager told Ms Oziel she needed conflict management training, that Mr Henderson had been ‘bullied’ by management, and that she needed to enter into mediation with him.
She refused and issued a ‘fair treatment’ complaint of her own. When the company didn’t respond, Ms Oziel resigned and went to the employment tribunal.
They found that:
- Sainsbury’s failed to properly investigate her complaint about Mr Henderson (especially regarding the imitation gun threat), yet treated his complaint as an official grievance
- They failed to consider Ms Oziel’s concerns for her personal safety around him, and put the blame on her
- She was sexually discriminated against in his use of the word “b*tch”, as it usually only relates to women
Ms Oziel was awarded almost £60,000, made up of £29,250 compensation plus £21,000 for injury to feelings, as well as £3,375 for unfair dismissal and £2,000 for aggravated damages.
Sainsbury’s say they take care to safeguard their colleagues and will learn from this case.
What this means to you
Employers have a duty to care for their employees, by taking safety, discrimination and whistleblowing seriously. They should investigate all complaints impartially and support complainants equally.
Sometimes, employers try to blame the whistleblower for causing the problem. That’s what happened to Ms Oziel.
By law, you are protected from being mistreated as a result of blowing the whistle, but you must make your report in the proper way.
Check your staff handbook or employment contract for the process to follow. For example:
- If you’re asked to work in an unsafe way, you might have to tell your manager, the health and safety manager, or your trade union representative
- If health and safety regulations are not being followed at work, approach the Health & Safety Executive
- If your employer is mis-handling personal data, report it to the Information Commissioner
- If you work in a care home and are concerned about malpractice, talk to the Care Quality Commission
- If you work in a hospital, it’s the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts
Those are just a few of the possible routes you should take in the first instance.
If the behaviour you want to report is really serious, you might be tempted to tell the police or the media. To be a protected disclosure, this mustn’t be done for personal gain (so you shouldn’t receive payment for an article that’s published in the newspaper, for example). In most cases, you should first report the misconduct internally or to the appropriate external organisation.
How we help
We are expert employment lawyers who only act for employees, not employers.
- If you become aware of wrongdoing at work, we’ll advise who you should make your disclosure to.
- If you’ve been dismissed or felt forced to resign as a result of whistleblowing, we’ll help you build a case for unfair or constructive dismissal.
- And, if you’ve missed out on a promotion or suffered other detriment, we’ll support you to claim for compensation.
Please give us a call – the initial enquiry is free. We’ll tell you what to do, and your chances of winning your case.
Related reading
You might like to check out our other articles about whistleblowing. These include:
- Can I claim for whistleblowing discrimination?
- I’ve lost my job after whistleblowing. Can I claim for unfair dismissal?
- Whistleblowing. Are you protected?
- Witnessed malpractice in the workplace? It’s time to blow the whistle!
- Top tips you need to know for whistleblowing
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