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Case studies

Protect helps food sector whistleblower agree £100,000 settlement

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Jada (not her real name) was a manager for a well known food chain.

A new Divisional Director told managers to complete staff satisfaction surveys themselves, rather than their teams, as this would boost their bonuses. Jada thought this was wrong and raised her concern to the Compliance Team in the United States. They assured Jada they would investigate and promised her confidentiality. Soon after, Jada heard the Divisional Director telling other managers that she had reported him. Jada followed up with the US Compliance Team who appointed investigators and later found her concerns proven. Two weeks later, Jada was called to a meeting where the employer questioned her about old incidents at work that she knew nothing about. As she left the meeting, Jada had a heated conversation with the Divisional Director and she was later suspended.

We explained Jada’s rights under whistleblowing law and advised that she had done nothing wrong. We referred Jada to litigation lawyers who helped her to start a claim in the Employment Tribunal. At the door of the tribunal, her case settled for over £100,000. We advised Jada to be honest with future job applications and she now has a new job and studies law in the evenings. Jada has no regrets and still values her former company, commenting that its ethics had been hijacked by one individual. Jada doubted she would have coped without the counselling and support that Protect provided.

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Fraud in charity stopped by whistleblowers

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Maz (not her real name) was a manager for a large company that serviced equipment in the homes of a national charity. On return from holiday, Maz’s team told her that the manager had shown them how to alter the billing system so that the charity would be charged for twice as much work as had actually been performed. Maz was unsure what to do so called Protect.

We advised Maz that she was right to raise her concerns and suggested she raise it to the Operations Manager who was the senior contact on the employer’s whistleblowing policy. The Operations Manager assured Maz that she and her team would not be at risk. After an investigation, the manager admitted his error. Maz’s team wanted some sanction against the manager so we checked that she had no further suspicion of fraud and advised that she and her team had laid a strong marker for behaviour they would not tolerate in the future.

Months later, Maz rang to say she had rebuilt a good relationship with her manager and her team was doing well.

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Care worker thanked for raising patient safety concerns

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Manisha (not her real name) worked as a senior care coordinator in a care home. A member of staff forgot to give some residents their medication so the home manager flushed the remaining packs of drugs down the toilet to cover-up the mistake. Manisha raised her concerns to head office who suspended the manager and the member of staff pending an investigation. Manisha felt uncomfortable about this.

We reassured Manisha that it was positive that senior managers were taking the concern seriously and thanked her for her efforts. We advised her to speak to the investigator if she felt victimised for raising her concerns or if the manager or anyone else was trying to find out the identity of the the whistleblower. Manisha was thanked by senior managers and the concern was resolved without her being victimised.

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