Whistleblowing protection for junior doctors

A recent Court of Appeal judgment (Day v Lewisham NHS Trust & Health Education England) has called for the law to be interpreted to widen the protection of whistleblowing for junior doctors.

The case concerned Dr Chris Day, who as part of his training contract as a junior doctor with Health Education England (“HEE”) was placed in various NHS Trusts.  While working at the Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust, he raised concerns about staffing shortages to the hospital as well as the HEE. Dr day claims after he met with the HEE to discuss his concerns, they made false allegations against him and deleted his doctor training number, making it difficult for him to further his career. He stated that their conduct was as a result of the complaint that he had raised. Dr Day brought a claim in the employment tribunal.

The HEE argued they were not Dr Day’s employer and therefore, he was not entitled to protection under whistleblowing legislation. They also stated that Parliament had excluded junior doctors’ relationship with the HEE from protection under whistleblowing. The tribunal and employment appeal tribunal accepted HEE’s contentions and rejected the claim.

Dr Day appealed to the Court of Appeal who found that the arguments used by the Government agency, HEE to deprive junior doctors of statutory whistleblowing protection were legally flawed, calling for employment law to be interpreted to maximise protection for junior doctors in the NHS. The case has been sent back to another employment tribunal for it to re-heard to determine whether junior doctors have whistleblowing protection against the HEE.

Dr Day’s case was debated in Parliament and has received considerable press attention. Dr Day has raised over £140,000 via crowdfunding.

If you would like to discuss a whistleblowing matter, please call our specialist employment solicitors on 0207 956 8699 or email info@rllaw.co.uk.