EXPERT WITNESS: Disclosure in the public interest

The duty of confidence and protection for whistleblowers

Summary:

OH law and ethics expert Professor Diana Kloss explains the circumstances where it may be justifiable for an OH professional to breach their usual legal and ethical duty of confidentiality, if doing so is justified in the public interest, and how public interest is also relevant to ‘blowing the whistle’.

The duty of confidence applies to anyone who receives information from another in circumstances where there is either an express or implied obligation not to reveal it to anyone else without the consent of the person who confided it. It is a duty imposed by the common law but also by the Data Protection Act 2018 (DP Act) …

 

Professor Diana Kloss MBE is a barrister, former part-time employment judge, and author

Author:

Tags case law data protection DPA - Data Protection Act law whistleblowing

Occupational Health at Work December/January 2025/2026 (vol. 22/4) pp36-40

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