The Supreme Court, in a landmark decision Clyde & Co LLP and another v Bates van Winkelhof, held that an LLP member is a "worker" for the purposes of qualifying for whistleblowing protection. This impacts on all entities set up as an LLP such as hedge funds and asset management companies. It means that the member will be protected if she/he is subjected to any detriment for making a protected disclosure. There is no limit on the amount of compensation that may be awarded so it is very important for LLPs to ensure that policies and procedures are in place for members to raise any concerns about suspected malpractice or wrongdoing and to ensure that these are investigated and dealt with effectively and properly.
Key Points
- The implications of this decision are far-reaching as it also means that LLP members will now qualify for other "worker" rights including protection from unlawful deductions from wages, paid annual leave and from less favourable treatment if they work part-time .
- The other issue which has yet to be resolved is whether they could be considered "eligible job holders" for the purposes of pensions auto-enrolment and therefore entitled to mandatory employer pension contributions.
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