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Mark Ellis

A small step forward, but will the Lords leap on whistleblowing reform?

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The government’s landmark Employment Rights Bill has now bounced from the Commons to the Lords as it continues its progress through Parliament. After a highly scrutinised passage through the Commons that led to more than 200 pages of amendments tabled at the Report Stage and Third Reading the Bill will be debated in the Lords for the first time on Thursday 27 March. This Bill provides a critical opportunity to improve whistleblowing protections for everyone in the workplace and revamp the way employers address and manage whistleblowing.  

From toxic work culture to an entire toxic town

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Every scandal comes to light, in the wake of ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office, whistleblowing scandals are now taking centre stage on TV with New Netflix series ‘Toxic Town’, starring Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education and The White Lotus), and Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker. The show has been labelled the UK’s Erin Brockovich, as a group of women take on their local council and the local steelworks following a pattern of birth defects in young children that whistleblowers were able to prove could have been avoided. 

Press statement: reaction to Committee on Standards in Public Life’s new report

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Protect welcomes the publication of the new report from the Committee on Public Standards in Public Life “Recognising and responding to early warning signs in public sector bodies” and calls for the introduction of a statutory duty on employers to investigate whistleblower concerns to give workers the confidence they will be listened to when they speak up.

What the Employment Rights Bill means for whistleblowing

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The government’s flagship Employment Rights Bill, rapidly moving throught the stages of Parliament, offers an opportunity to overhaul how employers and colleagues treat both whistleblowers and the how people raise concerns. We’re very pleased to see a great focus on tackling sexual harassment in the workplace, and extensions of time limits for bringing an employment tribunal claim. But as welcome as these changes are, they are not ambitious enough to strengthen whistleblowing protections which the Government committed to during the 2024 election.

Top Ten Things Charities get Wrong in Whistleblowing

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Like any organisation, charities face issues such as fraud, culture, safeguarding, and other risks. But operating under unique challenges, including resource constraints, funding shortfalls, and staffing shortages can significantly impact the ability to respond effectively. Do you have the right measures in place to handle concerns correctly?

Legal challenge to give all job applicants vital whistleblowing legal protections

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A case at the Court of Appeal is considering whether all external job applicants should have whistleblowing legal protection. Protect has filed a third-party intervention at the Court of Appeal to widen whistleblowing protection to all external job applicants. The charity was given permission to intervene because the case gives rise to important issues of public policy.

Press statement: Josie Stewart, former FCDO whistleblower wins at Tribunal

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Responding to the judgment in the case of Josie Stewart, former FCDO whistleblower, Protect welcomes the ruling which has far reaching implications for the civil service. However, we still need to close the gap between the value whistleblowing brings in exposing wrongdoing, and the lack of protections for those civil servants who speak up.

What is the cost to the taxpayer when whistleblowers are ignored

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It is well documented that when whistleblowers are not listened to organisations can collapse, livelihoods can be lost, and people can lose their lives. There’s lots of research examining the treatment of whistleblowers when they try to speak up and what employers should do to be better. But what about the bigger cost to society – and in financial terms – the cost to all of us, the taxpayers, when things go wrong and the government has to step in and pick up the pieces?

Ignoring whistleblowers costs the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds

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New research reveals the financial impact to the taxpayer of failing to listen to whistleblowers. The Post Office Horizon scandal, the Countess of Chester/ Lucy Letby scandal and the collapse of the construction firm Carillion alone have so far cost the taxpayer 426 million pounds.