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Supporting our members over 2020

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Despite the challenges, we look back on our 2020 work with satisfaction: we welcomed a number of organisations who chose to work with us and receive ongoing support as Members, including Ecclesiastical Insurance, Wolverhampton City Council, Northampton Fire & Rescue, UK Athletics, Bailey Group Glyndebourne, and the Sanger Institute, amongst others. Joining Protect as a ... Read more

A year like no other for Protect’s Advice Line

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The 16 March 2020 will be remembered as a key moment in how Covid-19 affected the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that evening that all of the UK, if possible, should work from home. Effective immediately. For over a quarter of a century, Protect has been providing free legal advice to whistleblowers through … Read more

Lords debate HS2 heavy use of NDAs

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Concerns over 300 Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) by HS2 railway line construction project has been debated in the House of Lords who say wide scale use of NDAs could be  ‘undermining public trust’ in infrastructure projects. NDAs are legal agreements that prevent the disclosure of commercial information by those who are signed up to them, but … Read more

Whistleblowing culture in central Government needs overhauling

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The inquiry into bullying allegations by Home Secretary Priti Patel has led to much disquiet in Whitehall with questions raised about the state of whistleblowing culture within central Government.  The Home Secretary said she was not aware of allegations against her – this is troubling.  The report is unclear whether no one felt able to speak ... Read more

Misidentified whistleblowers – falling through the cracks

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Whistleblowing serves a vital public function. It ensures that public interest wrongdoing in the workplace is called out, resolved and protects not only workers and employers but the public at large. Whistleblowers like Jonathan Taylor[1], Chris Day[2] and Clare Gilham[3] have helped expose issues of international corruption, poor patient care and failures in the justice ... Read more

‘To UK and other world authorities: what sort of example are you setting to would-be whistleblowers?’

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UK national Jonathan Taylor blew the whistle in 2013 on a $275 million international network of bribes paid by his employers Monaco-based Dutch oil platform company SBM Offshore. His evidence was investigated by the UK Serious Fraud Office, investigators in Brazil and the Netherlands as well as the FBI and the US Department of Justice. … Read more

Law Commission back Protect proposals for Official Secrets Act reform

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The Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1989  - used to protect government data from unauthorised disclosures by criminalising those that disclose such information without authority – has been a contentious law for many civil society groups, including Protect, who have long been calling for its reform. Protect has been calling for the introduction of a statutory ... Read more

Guest blog: Charity Sector Speak Up Network

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The charity sector has seen a steady flow of incidents where it is likely that the outcomes could have been very different, and more constructive had there been a strong speak up culture within the organisations concerned. Key to this is charity trustees and senior managers proactively ‘listening up’ to concerns about wrongdoing and demonstrating ... Read more

Ellen DeGeneres Show staff latest to call out toxic workplace culture

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Although strides have been made to put sexual harassment at work firmly on employers’ agendas, it must fatigue the advocates for workplace equality that it remains largely just that - an agenda item. The Ellen Degeneres Show scandal is the latest toxic workplace to showcase racism, bullying and sexual harassment. Three words which one would ... Read more

Whistleblower reveals maternity unit is still failing patients

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The maternity unit at Basildon University Hospital has been ordered to carry out urgent improvements after a whistleblower anonymously raised serious concerns about patient safety to the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Protect Adviser Rhiannon Plimmer-Craig explores what this latest scandal says about the culture of the health sector, how whistleblowers are treated and why whistleblowers … Read more