The Government has issued a consultation on proposed draft regulations aimed at giving greater protection to NHS whistleblowers.

The consultation document, containing the draft regulations states that the

"overarching intent of the draft regulations is to make clear that discrimination against whistleblowers seeking jobs or posts with certain NHS employers is prohibited; that the individual applicants have a legal recourse should they feel they have been discriminated against, with appropriate remedies should their complaint be upheld; and to help embed in NHS bodies a culture that supports workers to raise concerns and welcomes new workers who have done so in the past."

The draft regulations would achieve this by implementing the following:

* Prohibit discrimination by certain NHS employers in the recruitment recruitment of an applicant (i.e. by refusing the application or otherwise treating the applicant less favourably than other applicants are treated or would be treated in relation to the same contract post or office) because it appears that the applicant has made a protected disclosure. * Give the applicant a right to complain to an employment tribunal if they have been discriminated against on this basis. * Set out a timeframe in which a complaint to the tribunal must be lodged. * Set out the remedies which the tribunal may or must award if a complaint is upheld. * Make provision as to the amount of compensation that can be awarded. * Give the applicant a right to bring a claim in the County Court or the High Court for breach of statutory duty in order to, amongst other things, restrain or prevent discriminatory conduct. * Treat discrimination of an applicant by a worker or agent of the prospective employer (NHS body), as if it was discrimination by the NHS body itself.

The consultation closes on 12 May 2017.

You can read more and access the relevant documents on the Department of Health website here.