The Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) (Amendment) Order 2014

Statutory Instruments

2014 No. 596

Terms And Conditions Of Employment

The Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) (Amendment) Order 2014

Made

12th March 2014

Laid before Parliament

13th March 2014

Coming into force

6th April 2014

The Secretary of State makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 43F of the Employment Rights Act 1996(1).

Citation and commencement

1.    This Order may be cited as the Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) (Amendment) Order 2014 and comes into force on 6th April 2014.

Amendment

2.    In the Schedule to the Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 1999(2), after the entry for “local authorities which are responsible for the enforcement of food standards” insert—

“A member of the House of Commons.

Any matter specified in this column.”

Jenny Willott

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

12th March 2014

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Schedule to the Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 1999 (“the 1999 Schedule”).

The Employment Rights Act 1996 (“1996 Act”) provides protection for workers who suffer a detriment or are dismissed as a result of blowing the whistle by making a qualifying disclosure in accordance with any of sections 43C to 43H of the 1996 Act. (‘Qualifying disclosure’ has the meaning given in section 43B of the 1996 Act.) Section 43F of the 1996 Act provides that a qualifying disclosure will be protected if it is made to a prescribed person and relates to matters in respect of which that person is prescribed. The 1999 Schedule lists the prescribed persons and the matters in respect of which they are prescribed for the purposes of section 43F.

This Order amends the 1999 Schedule to make members of the House of Commons prescribed persons in respect of any matter listed in the Schedule.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.

(1)

1996 c. 18. Section 43F was inserted by section 1 of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (c. 23).

(2)

S.I. 1999/1549, amended by S.I. 2003/1993, 2004/3265, 2005/2464, 2005/3172, 2008/531, 2009/462, 2009/2457, 2010/7, 2010/671, 2011/2581, 2012/462, 2012/1479, 2012/1641, 2012/2400, 2013/472, 2013/2213; there are other amending instruments but none is relevant.