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Public interest disclosure: Meaning of "good faith" in whistleblowing provisions

Key Points

In Street v Derbyshire Unemployed Workers' Centre, the Court of Appeal holds:

  • An employment tribunal had been correct to find that an employee's "whistleblowing" disclosure was not made in good faith because, although she believed her allegations to be true and did not make the disclosure for personal gain, her motivation for making it was personal antagonism towards the subject of the disclosure.
  • Accordingly, it was not a protected disclosure within the meaning of s.43G of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The Court holds that a tribunal should find that a disclosure was not made in good faith only if the dominant or predominant purpose in making the disclosure was an ulterior motive and not the public interest.