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Disclosures, public interest & the Official Secrets Act

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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

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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? 

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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

Why NDAs need reform 

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 Maria Miller MP, former Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, had the first reading of her 10-minute rule bill ( September 14) calling for the reform of non-disclosure agreements.  Miller’s Bill proposes to make it a basic principle of our legal system that no one, however powerful, can buy an employee’s silence if there are allegations of wrongdoing in ... Read more

Protect’s Head of Advice & Advocacy blogs on Lewis Silkin secondment 

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Whilst Protect does a lot of work with businesses on helping them improve their whistleblowing arrangements, in my role as the Head of Advice, most of my typical day at Protect was previously spent supporting individuals. During my six-month secondment at law firm Lewis Silkin, which began in March, I worked across the Employment and Commercial Dispute Resolution ... Read more

Time to level up speaking up across all sectors

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In a guest blog for the National Guardian’s Speak Up Month, Protect Chief Executive Liz Gardiner says ‘it’s time to level speaking up across all sectors’ The record number of healthcare workers speaking up to Freedom to Speak Up Guardians is good news for patient safety and for us all. Our mantra at Protect, the … Read more

Can a whistleblowing policy help prevent fraud and strengthen cyber security?

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Cybercrime is one of the most disruptive frauds that organisations face so we need tools that improve protections for businesses – and indeed for customers, clients and the wider public affected by fraud. PWC’s global economic crime survey 2020 revealed fraud and economic crime are at record highs in the UK, and FCA and others … Read more

Our latest newsletter is out!

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Our latest newsletter has been published – read about our shortlist for the Law Society’s ‘Excellence in Law Awards 2021’ for  ‘Excellence in upholding the Rule of Law’ and our work supporting whistleblowers during Covid. Toxic workplaces have been hitting the headlines over the past few months… if you work in HR, compliance, or oversee … Read more

My Protect secondment – ‘a rewarding experience with a crack-team of experts’

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Michael Szlesinger, a trainee solicitor at Lewis Silkin LLP, joined Protect for six months on secondment and shares his experience of his time with Protect. “When I started my secondment, I had little knowledge of employment law – let alone the niche area of whistleblowing law. Moreover, I came from a commercial law background, where … Read more