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Fairly and Justly? Are Employment Tribunals Able to Even Out Whistleblowing Power Imbalances?

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: In Britain, Employment Tribunals (ET) adjudicate on whistleblowing legislation. They do so with the overriding aim to adjudicate cases fairly and justly, by hearing parties on an equal footing. This paper presents research questioning this rule-of-law assumption vis-a-vis power imbalances that relate to whistleblowing. Using multinomial logistic regression analysis, we analyse all cases at ET in England and Wales between 2015 and 2018, that included a whistleblowing claim and that went to preliminary hearing or beyond. We find that several variables have an effect on the relative representational strength (RRS) at ET, but not on the outcome of the whistleblowing claim. However, whistleblowing claims brought in combination of discrimination claims (41%) have lower RRS and less favourable outcomes for the whistleblowing claim.

Source: Journal of Business Ethics

DOI: 10.1007/s10551-021-05023-8

Authors: Laura William, Wim Vandekerckhove

Institution: University of Greenwich

Language: English

Topic: Ethics in Business and Education

Subfield: Information Systems and Management

Field: Decision Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Reduced inequalities, Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,280