How should an employer deal with anonymous complaints?
Published on: 21/07/2026
Article Authors The main content of this article was provided by the following authors.
Oisin Gourley Solicitor, Edwards Solicitors
Oisin Gourley Solicitor, Edwards Solicitors
Oisin Gourley Edward Co

Oisin Gourley is an employment solicitor with experience advising both employers and employees on a wide range of workplace issues. Originally from County Tyrone, he has represented claimants in discrimination cases before Employment Tribunals and has extensive experience providing employment law and HR advice to organisations across diverse sectors. Oisin regularly advises on complex matters including unfair dismissal, redundancy, TUPE, holiday pay, equal pay, whistleblowing and breach of contract, combining legal expertise with practical, commercially focused guidance for employers.

With great difficulty you might say.

Anonymous complaints should be treated in the same any other complaint in terms of record keeping and investigation of the specifics alleged.

The key difference in an anonymous complaint is that the following balancing exercise is also required;

•    The employer should scrutinise the informant’s reason for wanting to remain anonymous to strike a balance between “the desirability to protect informants who are genuinely in fear and providing a fair hearing of issues for employees who are accused of misconduct.” (Mr N Ramsey v Walkers Snacks Food Limited, UK EAT/0601/03/MAA).

Perhaps, easier said than done.

In short, it is possible to proceed with an investigation based on an anonymous complainant/informant or if some

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Disclaimer The information in this article is provided as part of Legal Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article. This article is correct at 21/07/2026