Protecting whistleblowers in Norway and the UK: a case of mix and match?

This paper aims to compare and contrast the approaches taken by the UK and Norway in providing employment protection for whistleblowers.

The paper examines the legislative provisions contained in the Employment Rights Act 1996 (UK) and the Work Environment Act 2005 (Norway) together with relevant case law and preparatory papers.

Unlike the UK, Norway affords employees a statutory right to notify wrongdoing and requires employers to develop internal reporting procedures. The authors believe that the approaches taken to protecting whistleblowers reflect the different systems of industrial relations in these two countries.

In the light of this research it is suggested that a right to disclose wrongdoing should be introduced in the UK together with a duty on employers to show that it has not been infringed. It is also recommended that what can be reported should be more precisely defined in Norway either by law or collective bargaining.

The paper makes proposals for the reform of legislation in both countries.