Isabelle No business is immune from ESG risks, if only because of consumer consciousness, staff pressure, regulators’ and investors’ expectations. How an organisation treats its people, how it impacts and influences its communities and its environment are questions that can’t be ignored anymore: businesses are being held accountable for their social and environmental footprints.
To mark World Whistleblowers Day, 23rd June, we turned our social media channels into a whistleblowing alphabet – starting with A for Anti-Slapp and ending with Z for Gen Z. The language surrounding whistleblowing can be complex. Legal jargon, abbreviations, and acronyms are an intrinsic part of the world of whistleblowing and we wanted to break some of this down in accessible and digestible ways.
With political parties thrown into campaigning mode with the calling of a general election any outstanding Government announcements, policy decisions and most importantly, legislation going through Parliament, have been put on hold – many permanently. This blog provides a rundown of the whistleblowing law changes and policy decisions that have been delayed, cancelled or have survived the calling of the general election.
Join Protect, on the 24th June, for our annual World Whistleblowers Day webinar. Together with Focal Point Training, we’ll explore the role of whistleblowing in addressing workplace sexual harassment and the impact on victims.
In Protect’s 30th year we supported over 3,000 new whistleblowers, and our advisers had almost 20,000 phone calls and email exchanges with callers to our advice line. Each one of those interactions costs Protect about £30 and we need your help to raise funds to ensure we continue to provide the UK’s only free, confidential, legal advice service for whistleblowers.
The Infected Blood Inquiry report has laid bare how thousands of people died unnecessarily through receiving infected blood that was supposed to save their lives, and how both the NHS and the Government frustrated justice for decades.
Josie decided to go to the media after a junior civil servant, Raphael Marshall, reached out to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee with evidence of Foreign Office failings. Feeling “humbled” that a junior colleague had been brave enough to speak out, Josie gave an anonymous interview and leaked emails to the BBC to corroborate what he had said. Like so many other whistleblowers, she paid a heavy price for speaking out
Recently, the Chancellor made it known that he was not happy with the Financial Conduct Authority ‘s new proposals. Under the proposals, the regulator would publicly announce when they open an investigation into a firm – if they decided it was in the public interest to do so. They already have powers to do so, but only in exceptional circumstances.
Join us on Wednesday 5 June, 8:30-10:00AM, for a breakfast briefing in partnership with Slaughter and May to hear from Philippa O’Malley, Partner Slaughter and May, Moira Thompson Oliver, Senior Counsel Slaughter and May and Sybille Raphael, Legal Director at Protect on how to adopt and embed robust whistleblowing arrangements as part of your environmental governance strategy.
The most effective way to protect a whistleblower is often to shield their identity while investigating the concerns they have raised. If staff believe their confidentiality won’t be protected this can be stressful for the individual or make other staff reluctant to come forward in the future.
