Press statement: Employment Rights Bill

Protect welcomes this long overdue strengthening of workers’ rights, but we see this Bill as another missed opportunity to improve whistleblowing law.

We are very pleased to see specific actions to address sexual harassment in the workplace. The current system makes it very difficult for anyone facing harassment at work to know how to raise concerns other than via the grievance process. The steps outlined in the government’s Employment Rights Bill send a clear signal that anyone who has been sexually harassed, or witnessed it, can raise their concerns through whistleblowing channels and will be protected from being victimised or dismissed if they do so.  This may go some way to prevent another Harrods type scandal.

However, while this is welcomed, this does not go far enough to meet Labour’s manifesto commitments to strengthen whistleblower protections. There is still no obligation on those who receive whistleblowing concerns to investigate them, and we want to see a duty on employers to investigate all whistleblowing reports, including those of sexual harassment.