Katherine Apps KC
Year of call: 2006
Silk: 2023
Following the recent publicity surrounding the use of confidentiality clauses in the NHS and Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry by Robert Francis QC, the NHS Employers organisation has in April 2013 published new guidance on:
For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Agreement shall prejudice any rights that the Employee has or may have under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and/or any obligations that the Employee has or may have to raise concerns about patient safety and care with regulatory or other appropriate statutory bodies pursuant to his or her professional and ethical obligations including those obligations set out in guidance issued by regulatory or other appropriate statutory bodies from time to time.
The Guidance on severance payments includes sections on:
Both of these sets of short Guidance will be essential reading for all those who represent any NHS employer or employee in an employment case. As the media coverage following the Robert Francis QC Inquiry has shown, the stakes are high if stricter gagging clauses are included than those permitted under this Guidance.
Katherine Apps.