Category: Uncategorised

Protect Chief Executive Francesca West will be leading the panel debate ‘Creating cultures that support speaking up and listening up’  at the 5^th Annual Culture and Conduct Forum for the Financial Services Industry,  held on 14 November in central London.

The 5th Culture and Conduct conference focuses on exploring the role of ’purpose’ in creating healthy cultures; regulation and culture: Is SMCR (Senior Managers and Certification Regime) an effective tool for changing culture; whistleblowing; diversity vs tokenism: pay gaps and underrepresentation; training, education and staff development; lessons from other industries; reward, recognition and wellbeing; how should the Board take account of the conduct implications of the strategic choices it makes; how to encourage front, middle, back office, control and support functions to be responsible for managing the conduct of their business; outcomes of culture vs behaviour that drives it – which you should be measuring.

If you attended our panel debate and round table ‘Safeguarding & Whistleblowing in the third sector’  on October 24th – thank you for coming – we hope you agree it was an interesting and insightful morning.

We are sending you this reminder that you are still eligible to take part in our third sector Benchmark pilot – to test the culture and effectiveness of speak up arrangements in your organisation. The deadline to complete the 360 Benchmark is Friday 29 November.

Protect is the UK’s only whistleblowing charity and supports more than 3,000 whistleblowing cases each year. We are offering access to our 360 Benchmark for up to 40 charities to measure how effective their whistleblowing culture and arrangements are through using our Benchmark tool.

Francesca West, Chief Executive of Protect, said: “Following the very well-documented Oxfam scandal, we recognise there is much to be done to support the third sector.”

In return, once all 40 charities have completed the 360 Benchmark, data will be analysed and discussed anonymously. We are looking to set up a working group to analyse the results and share best practice.

So do please complete your Benchmark asap – remember, remember, 29 November!

To receive your Benchmark log in, take part in the pilot working group, or if you have any queries about the pilot, please get in touch with our Development Director Jon Cunningham, Jon@protect-advice.org.uk or call Jon on 020 3117 2520.

Protect Chief Executive Francesca West will join Oxfam whistleblower Helen Evans at the Marketing Society’s global ‘Bravest Conference’ celebrating strong, brave leadership.

Until 2015, Helen was Global Head of Safeguarding at Oxfam GB. In 2018 she spoke publicly about sexual exploitation and abuse at Oxfam GB, precipitating a government inquiry and Charity Commission investigation.

Taking place at the Science Museum (November 6), Francesca and Helen will talk to delegates in their presentation ‘The Strength to Speak up’ and share with delegates why whistleblowing is so important, and why organisations need to listen to staff. Helen, who continues to work in the charity sector as Director of Dravet Syndrome UK, will speak about her experiences as a whistleblower and her work with NGO Safe Space and what #AidToo means for charity brands.

Francesca West said, “It is important to acknowledge outstanding bravery and inspiring leadership in the workplace, which Helen exemplifies. We need more organisations from top management down to better understand the real value of staff who speak up. Thank them for speaking up – they are offering up invaluable information which could stop risk or harm to your organisation and others.”

Amongst other inspiring speakers, is Gina Miller who in 2016 successfully challenged the UK Government over its authority to implement Brexit, winning in both the High Court and Supreme Court in what is hailed as the most important British constitutional case since the 1700s.

Gina continues a ‘democracy and legality’ watching brief of the UK Government’s activities as Brexit progresses.  In May 2019 she launched the Remain United campaign which successfully facilitated a tactical voting campaign during the 2019 European Parliament Elections- the first time this was done and has published her first book ‘Rise: Life Lessons in Speaking Out, Standing Tall & Leading the Way’.

Read about the other inspiring speakers taking part in the Bravest Conference.

https://www.marketingsociety.com/event/london-bravest-conference-2019

The Supreme Court has handed down a judgment today (October 16) which confirms judges are protected under whistleblowing provisions under the Employment Rights Act 1996, following a case brought by District Judge Claire Gilham.

District Judge, Claire Gilham, raised concerns in 2013 about the stresses and dangers faced by those working in the courts and the effects on justice and due process as a result of an under-resourced system. She claimed after she raised these concerns no action was taken and she was subjected to bullying and the stress of greater workloads. She argued in her legal case that she suffered detriments as a result of blowing the whistle.

Whistleblowing charity Protect intervened in the case and were represented by law firm Leigh Day. Protect has been campaigning for some time for the whistleblowing law, the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA), to be extended to cover all individuals in the workplace.

Bob Matheson, Head of Advice & Advocacy at Protect, welcoming the news, said: “We were struck by the court’s observation that the government doesn’t have a plausible reason why our judges were denied the same right to call out wrongdoing as other workers, it just hadn’t put its mind to the issue. For too long, the burden of bringing our whistleblowing legislation up to date with the rest of the world has been placed on whistleblowers like Judge Gilham. To expect so much from those who have already spoken up on our behalf is unconscionable.

“Our most senior judiciary have firmly recognised the fundamental importance of whistleblowing rights for all of those in work and that the government must provide these rights in a consistent well-reasoned way.”

Protect has recently launched its campaign for a new Whistleblowing Bill to correct the fact that it has fallen behind many of our international counterparts. Protect will be calling on the government, civil society groups, and wider society, to seize the opportunity provided by this judgment to re-establish the UK as a world-leader in this area.

 Kiran Daurka, Partner and employment solicitor at Leigh Day, said: “Today’s judgment by the Supreme Court is a significant step forward in protection for whistle blowers and our client, Protect, believes that by extending whistleblowing protections to the judiciary it will make the justice system a safer place, allowing judges to raise their concerns without fear of being penalised as a result.

“Importantly, Lady Hale says that the government did not justify why judges were excluded from whistleblowing protections. She said that the government or Parliament had never considered protections for the judiciary and could not therefore explain why they should not be given the protections given to others.  In our view, similar observations can be made about other groups of office holders who have not yet been given express whistleblowing protections.”

As latest figures from third sector regulator the Charity Commission reveal more people are coming forward to raise concerns, whistleblowing Protect say it’s a step in the right direction but still so much to be done to rebuild trust amongst the UK’s 166,000 charities and staff.

Whistleblowing disclosures have doubled from 185 whistleblowing reports in the year to 31 March, up from 88 in 2016/17 and an 83.2 per cent rise on the 2017/18 figure, a report from the regulator shows.

Over the past five years, safeguarding, governance and concerns about money laundering and fraud have been the most commonly reported issues – but safeguarding with 89 disclosures has become the number one concern compared with 24 the year before.

The Charity Commission report highlights how it has reviewed its approach to whistleblowing and widened its definition of whistleblowing to include volunteers. As well as including volunteers, the report highlights a new approach to make the process clearer, revising the guidance, and launching a whistleblowing helpline and training commission staff to deal with whistleblowers.

Francesca West, Chief Executive of whistleblowing charity Protect, which runs an advice line for whistleblowers as well as a pilot Charity Commission helpline, said, “It is of course encouraging the Charity Commission are seeing whistleblowing disclosures rise and taking steps to help the sector. However, what we are hearing through calls to our advice line is that charity workers, who are prepared to speak up, are still feeling very scared and worried about raising concerns with their employer. There’s a lot to do to restore trust amongst workers that it is safe to speak up at work, and that it can make a difference if they do.” The charity has seen cases double since the launch of the pilot helpline in June this year.

The Charity Commission said the increase in safeguarding calls  is ‘likely to have been influenced by the high-profile nature of safeguarding incidents emerging from the charity sector this year.’

In a bid to help improve whistleblowing/safeguarding culture within the sector, Protect have launched a free pilot to charities offering its 360 Benchmark whistleblowing tool – which sets out 33 standards for whistleblowing arrangements – to around 30-40 charities to help them understand where they might be falling short on best practice.

The pilot will be launched at a round table event,  Safeguarding & Whistleblowing in the Third Sector – Panel debate & roundtable on October 24 in Central London. If you are a large charity and would like to attend, a few places are still available. Please confirm your attendance by contacting lou@protect-advice.org.uk