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Guest blog: Recognising whistleblower victimisation

If you are reading this, the chances are that you have just become, or are thinking about becoming, a whistleblower or know a whistleblower You may have uncovered wrongdoing in your workplace. You may have asked for it to be addressed or are thinking of speaking up, but are worried that you will be subject ... Read more

Our first newsletter of 2022 is now out – and features details of our new training courses, a look back at key whistleblowing cases of 2021, an Advice Line case study and details of a webinar on 24 February we are co-hosting with law firm Leigh Day, ‘Tackling Anti-Corruption – is whistleblowing the first defence?’ … Read more

Speaking up stops harm, but is good for business too

Protect is a leading authority on whistleblowing. Back in the 90s, Protect (then called Public Concern at Work) lobbied for one of the world’s first whistleblowing laws, the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, commonly referred to as PIDA. Back then, whistleblowing was not a concept many understood. Revolutionary at the time, PIDA today is out ... Read more

Our newsletter is out!

Our last newsletter of 2021 is out…. If you weren’t able to join us for our EU Whistleblowing Directive webinar, ‘Why it matters to us in the UK’ you can view the webinar here and read our article, ‘Implementing the EU Directive on Whistleblowing: Lessons learned from UK whistleblowing legislation PIDA’.  Read why we are concerned about Government … Read more

MP ethical standards shake up needs to include whistleblowing  

As the row over the conduct of MPs continues –  it is crystal clear central Government needs to toughen up ethical standards for public figures to deter malpractice.   Five former cabinet secretaries  – Robin Butler and his successors Richard Wilson, Andrew Turnbull, Gus O’Donnell and Mark Sedwill, – have all urged the government to adopt the recommendations of the ... Read more

Blowing the whistle on environmental damage – what workers need to know

The COP26 climate talks and the actions surrounding the conference, have served as a stark reminder that drastic action must be taken now to prevent climate catastrophe. As António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, warned at the beginning of the COP26, “Either we stop it, or it stops us.” At Protect, we recognise ... Read more

Disclosures, public interest & the Official Secrets Act

At Protect, we believe that whistleblowing is a bedrock of our democracy and crucial to holding the government accountable, detecting fraud and preventing serious wrongdoing. The Official Secrets Act 1989 (the “OSA”) ensures civil servants keep some key national security information confidential but should not prevent whistleblowing altogether. A workshop on ‘Civil Society, National Security, ... Read more

Regulator whistleblowing reports shows huge variation in case number and action taken

October is reporting month for ‘Prescribed Persons’ regulators who have a duty to publish their annual reports on the whistleblowing disclosures they receive each year, including information on the number of disclosures received, the number requiring further action, and the types of action taken – and the numbers received by regulators over 2020/21 varies widely.   Regulators designated ‘prescribed persons’ under UK whistleblowing law have  since 2017,   been required to publish ... Read more

Facebook’s ‘big tobacco moment’ – will it U-turn to put people before profits? 

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen has rightly been commended for speaking out about her former employer accusing the platform of putting “astronomical profits before people” – claiming the big tech company knows about the harm of some of its products, but does nothing about them prioritising growth and its shareholders over the safety and wellbeing of its three-billion-plus users.  … Read more