The Supreme Court has decided that judges are protected against being victimised for whistleblowing, despite the fact that at first sight they do not fall within the scope of the relevant legislation.
Previously, it had been presumed that if a claimant is not an employee, they must have been engaged under a contract to do work personally in order to qualify for whistleblowing protection. The Supreme Court decision makes it clear that the protection extends to judges, even though they are office holders, and, broadly speaking, their rights and obligations are defined by statute and not by contract.
It is hard to predict how widely this ruling will be applied, but it has the potential to extend protection to a much wider group of individuals, including office holders like charity trustees.
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