I was sacked after reporting wrongdoing, is this automatically unfair?

The Employment Rights Act 1996 (as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998) provides strong protection for whistleblowers. If you make a "protected disclosure" — a disclosure of information that you reasonably believe shows wrongdoing of a specific type — and your employer dismisses you as a result, that dismissal is automatically unfair.

There is no minimum period of employment required. Day-one workers can bring a whistleblowing claim.

To be protected, your disclosure must relate to one of six categories: criminal offences; breach of a legal obligation; miscarriage of justice; health and safety danger; environmental damage; or deliberate concealment of information about any of the above. You must have a reasonable belief (not necessarily correct) that the information tends to show one of these things and that the disclosure is in the public interest.

Disclosures can be made internally to your employer, to a "prescribed person" (a regulator), or in limited circumstances publicly. Internal disclosures carry the broadest protection.

Compensation for whistleblowing dismissal is uncapped — unlike standard unfair dismissal, which is subject to a statutory cap. You can also claim for detriment short of dismissal (e.g., demotion, disciplinary action, being treated poorly) under section 47B ERA 1996.

Keep detailed records of what you disclosed, when, to whom, and the employer's response. The timeline is important in showing causation between the disclosure and the dismissal.