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Legal Reform Campaign

Legal Reform Campaign

How many more scandals will it take for the Government to recognise the power of whistleblowing? From Lucy Letby to the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, Carillion, and Grenfell, these are just a few of the high-profile crises that have shaken our society in recent years. Could we have prevented the costs, injustice, and loss of life if whistleblowers were heard and protected?

About 70% of whistleblowers who reach out to us for advice face some form of retaliation, whether it's bullying, being ostracized by colleagues, unfair performance reviews, or even losing their jobs (around 20% are dismissed or resign). Worse, 40% say their concerns are simply ignored. Fear of retaliation and the belief that speaking up won't make a difference are what hold people back.

That’s why Protect is pushing for a new whistleblowing law—one that offers real support and strong protections for those who speak up, before, during, and after they blow the whistle.

A duty on employers to investigate whistleblowing concerns

This could prevent harm by making sure concerns are taken seriously, protecting employers, and reducing the devastating costs—both in lives and livelihoods—that come from scandals and disasters.

An extension of whistleblowing rights to cover all those in the workplace

The law hasn’t kept up with today’s modern workplace. Self-employed contractors, non-executive directors, trade unions, and others who should have protection currently have no safeguarding if they’re mistreated for blowing the whistle.

A simplification of the legal tests for whistleblowing to improve access to justice

Whistleblowing laws are complicated and hard to navigate without a lawyer. Simplifying the process would make it easier for whistleblowers to get the compensation they deserve when they face harm for their brave decision to speak up.

Why a new law?

The whistleblowing protections in the Employment Rights Act 1996, once considered world-leading, are now outdated. It hasn’t been reformed in over a decade and has fallen behind international standards, especially since the EU Directive on whistleblowing was introduced.

Current law only offers help after the damage has been done, when whistleblowers have already faced harm. Worse, the public isn’t protected if the concerns raised are ignored. There’s no clear guidance on what employers should do when someone blows the whistle—there’s not even a legal requirement to have a whistleblowing policy in place.

With more than 30 years expertise built through supporting over 50,000 whistleblowers through our Advice Line, we understand whistleblowing like nobody else. Our Whistleblowing Bill has been drafted to incorporate feedback from some of the UK’s leading legal minds, together with key academics and whistleblowers themselves.

We are calling for:

A duty on employers to investigate whistleblowing concerns

This could prevent harm by making sure concerns are taken seriously, protecting employers, and reducing the devastating costs—both in lives and livelihoods—that come from scandals and disasters.

An extension of whistleblowing rights to cover all those in the workplace

The law hasn’t kept up with today’s modern workplace. Self-employed contractors, non-executive directors, trade unions, and others who should have protection currently have no safeguarding if they’re mistreated for blowing the whistle.

A simplification of the legal tests for whistleblowing to improve access to justice

Whistleblowing laws are complicated and hard to navigate without a lawyer. Simplifying the process would make it easier for whistleblowers to get the compensation they deserve when they face harm for their brave decision to speak up.

Better protections and support for Trade Unions

Amend the law to encourage workers to raise concerns with their trade union representatives, and to protect trade union representatives who facilitate whistleblowing.

Restrict the use of NDA's being used to silence whistleblowers

Strengthen the anti-gagging clause language in the whistleblowing legal protection making it clear that a Non-Disclosure Agreement cannot prevent a whistleblower raising public interest concerns.

Hold employers more accountable

We would like to see the burden of proof reversed. Where a whistleblower has blown the whistle and been victimised for doing so, it is for the employer to prove that they had a justifiable reason for their action.

Stronger defence for whistleblowers

Whistleblowers need a public interest defence when they are threatened with defamation, breach of confidence (also known as SLAPPS) or prosecution for speaking out.

Read our bill

Protect is the UK’s leading whistleblowing charity

We aim to stop harm by encouraging safe whistleblowing. Our Advice Line supports more than 3,000 individuals each year and we have handled more than 50,000 cases since we were founded in 1993.

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