Whistleblowers protected when applying for NHS jobs

Implementation date: 23 May 2018

The Employment Rights Act 1996 (NHS Recruitment - Protected Disclosure) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/579) provide for increased protection for whistleblowers. Under the Regulations, an NHS employer discriminates against an applicant if it refuses their application or in some other way treats them less favourably than it treats or would treat other applicants in relation to the same contract, office or post. For these purposes, an "applicant" means an individual who applies to the NHS employer for a contract of employment, a contract to do work personally, or appointment to an office or post.