Big pay-outs for whistleblowers

WHISTLEBLOWERS WHO are dismissed unfairly by their employers are to be granted unlimited compensation under radical proposals to be unveiled by the Government in the House of Commons today.

Stephen Byers, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, has tabled a key amendment to the Employment Relations Bill aimed at encouraging senior executives to expose corrupt or unsafe practices. The amendment would abolish the current pounds 12,000 ceiling on pay-outs awarded by industrial tribunals.

Whistleblowers would be eligible for much higher compensation than other categories of dismissed employee, including victims of sexual and racial discrimination, whose awards would be a maximum of pounds 50,000.