My column last month about the pain awaiting whistleblowers resulted in e-mails and calls from several of them. Their pain is even worse than I imagined.

It is not just the harassment after they question company practices, or the way they are forced out of their jobs. There is the unequal legal battle that often follows. The whistleblowers may have right on their side but the other side can keep paying the lawyers for longer. When cases reach employment tribunals or courts, the employers assert the whistleblowers were fired for poor performance and dredge up every last lapse to prove it.