Commentary on Sections Summary and Background Section 17: Disclosures not protected unless believed to be made in the public interest
108.The effect of the section is to insert a specific public interest test into the ERA 1996. This ensures that, in order to benefit from protection, whistleblowing claims must in the future satisfy a public interest test and disclosures which can be characterised as being of a personal rather than public interest will not be protected. For example, if a worker does not receive the correct amount of holiday pay (which may be a breach of the terms of his/her contract of employment), this is a matter of personal rather than wider interest. The claimant must also show that the belief that the disclosure was in the public interest was reasonable in the circumstances.