In Great Britain, a worker may qualify for protection when they disclose information which they reasonably believe tends to show a criminal offence, breach of a legal obligation, miscarriage of justice, health-and-safety danger, environmental damage or concealment of any of these, and reasonably believe disclosure is in the public interest. They do not have to prove the allegation true. The route used to make a disclosure matters, particularly when disclosing outside the employer. A personal grievance alone will not necessarily qualify, although an issue affecting others may.
A genuine redundancy can follow a disclosure without being unlawful. But timing, treatment after reporting, unexpected selection criteria, missing consultation and inconsistent scores may justify further investigation. None proves retaliation on its own. If the reason or principal reason an employee is dismissed is a protected disclosure, dismissal is automatically unfair, without the ordinary two-year qualifying-service requirement. Workers who are not employees may instead have a claim for whistleblowing detriment, including dismissal treated as detriment. Compensation for protected-disclosure dismissal is not subject to the usual unfair dismissal compensatory cap, but an award depends on the evidence and losses. Do not assume the employer alone must prove that every redundancy is unconnected to a disclosure; the legal burden and test depend on claim and employment status.
Keep a lawful record of the disclosure, response and dates; do not remove confidential or personal data you are not entitled to take. Ask for selection criteria and reasons, make a factual appeal and get independent employment advice. A qualifying settlement agreement waiving claims requires independent advice; employer funding of that advice is negotiable, not automatically mandatory. In Great Britain, tribunal claims usually have a three-month-minus-one-day time limit from dismissal or detriment, subject to applicable conciliation rules. An application for interim relief in a qualifying whistleblowing dismissal claim must be made within seven days of the effective date of termination: seek urgent advice; do not wait for an appeal or routine early conciliation. Northern Ireland has separate law and LRA procedures.
Further resources: https://myredundancyrights.co.uk/blog