Van Wilkenhof brought a case against solicitors firm Clyde and Co, after it claimed she should not be protected by whistleblower rights as LLP members are not workers.
Van Wilkenhof exposed allegations of bribery in the firms' dealings in Tanzania. She also alleged sexual discrimination after her subsequent dismissal.
The ruling has implications for all LLPs, which include legal, accountancy and financial services firms. It means all LLP members will have whistleblower protection rights, along with the rights to industrial tribunals and the minimum wage.
Leading employment lawyers unanimously welcomed the ruling. Wragge Lawrence Graham and Co employment specialist and partner Yvonne Gallagher told HR magazine the ruling is "sensible".
"There is a lot of legal wrangling trying to prove that LLP members aren't workers, but if you look at it they clearly are. They're not classed as employees, which is a different category, but to give them workers' rights is clearly the right decision," she added.
Meriel Schindler, head of employment practice at Withers LLP, described the ruling as a "pragmatic lead judgement".
"It should provide a measure of comfort for those in such businesses who seek protection when genuinely exposing wrongdoing," she said. "The decision also appears to recognise the commercial reality of most modern LLPs, which is that not all members are in an equal bargaining position."
