Join us for a World Whistleblowers’ Day event, on June 24th, 10:00am: “Attitudes to whistleblowing – from Gen Z to Baby Boomers”, in partnership with Lloyds Banking Group. Shining a spotlight on new research from Protect, the UK’s whistleblowing charity, into generational attitudes to whistleblowing and how this impacts speaking up amongst the workforce.
In a disappointing judgment, the Court of Appeal has said that job applicants are not protected if they blow the whistle, and in doing so has thrown the ball firmly back into Parliament’s court to decide who is, and who is not, a whistleblower. More positively, the Court restated the value of whistleblowing and noted the purpose of the law is “to protect the public interest by ensuring that information about wrongdoing, or threats to health and safety or the environment, could be disclosed”
The government’s landmark Employment Rights Bill has now bounced from the Commons to the Lords as it continues its progress through Parliament. After a highly scrutinised passage through the Commons that led to more than 200 pages of amendments tabled at the Report Stage and Third Reading the Bill will be debated in the Lords for the first time on Thursday 27 March. This Bill provides a critical opportunity to improve whistleblowing protections for everyone in the workplace and revamp the way employers address and manage whistleblowing.
Every scandal comes to light, in the wake of ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office, whistleblowing scandals are now taking centre stage on TV with New Netflix series ‘Toxic Town’, starring Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education and The White Lotus), and Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker. The show has been labelled the UK’s Erin Brockovich, as a group of women take on their local council and the local steelworks following a pattern of birth defects in young children that whistleblowers were able to prove could have been avoided.
The government’s flagship Employment Rights Bill, rapidly moving throught the stages of Parliament, offers an opportunity to overhaul how employers and colleagues treat both whistleblowers and the how people raise concerns. We’re very pleased to see a great focus on tackling sexual harassment in the workplace, and extensions of time limits for bringing an employment tribunal claim. But as welcome as these changes are, they are not ambitious enough to strengthen whistleblowing protections which the Government committed to during the 2024 election.
Like any organisation, charities face issues such as fraud, culture, safeguarding, and other risks. But operating under unique challenges, including resource constraints, funding shortfalls, and staffing shortages can significantly impact the ability to respond effectively. Do you have the right measures in place to handle concerns correctly?
It is well documented that when whistleblowers are not listened to organisations can collapse, livelihoods can be lost, and people can lose their lives. There’s lots of research examining the treatment of whistleblowers when they try to speak up and what employers should do to be better. But what about the bigger cost to society – and in financial terms – the cost to all of us, the taxpayers, when things go wrong and the government has to step in and pick up the pieces?
Join us on February 27th at 9am for: “The Top Ten Things Charities Get Wrong in Whistleblowing”, in partnership with the legal firm Bates Wells. Shining a spotlight on the common pitfalls that charities encounter when managing whistleblowing cases this Breakfast Briefing will provide expert guidance on how to navigate risk and also provide a great networking opportunity.
Join us on Tuesday 25th February at 9.30am for an online webinar to hear from expert speakers who will unpack the detail of the new ‘failure to prevent fraud’ offence and provide clear actionable steps you can take in preparation. Whether you’re looking to enhance your current fraud prevention frameworks or build an anti-fraud culture from scratch, this event will provide valuable knowledge and practical tools to support you.
RUSI launches its new paper looking at the benefits of introducing rewards for whistleblowers in the fight against economic crime. Protect was established to encourage public interest concerns to be raised, investigated and addressed – including issues of bribery, corruption and fraud. For most of those who call our Advice Line, there is no question of rewards, nor does the concept make sense except in circumstances where substantial fines are levied against wrongdoers and collected by enforcement bodies.
