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Speaking up stops harm, but is good for business too

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Protect is a leading authority on whistleblowing. Back in the 90s, Protect (then called Public Concern at Work) lobbied for one of the world’s first whistleblowing laws, the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, commonly referred to as PIDA. Back then, whistleblowing was not a concept many understood. Revolutionary at the time, PIDA today is out ... Read more

MP ethical standards shake up needs to include whistleblowing  

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As the row over the conduct of MPs continues –  it is crystal clear central Government needs to toughen up ethical standards for public figures to deter malpractice.   Five former cabinet secretaries  – Robin Butler and his successors Richard Wilson, Andrew Turnbull, Gus O’Donnell and Mark Sedwill, – have all urged the government to adopt the recommendations of the ... Read more

Blowing the whistle on environmental damage – what workers need to know

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The COP26 climate talks and the actions surrounding the conference, have served as a stark reminder that drastic action must be taken now to prevent climate catastrophe. As António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, warned at the beginning of the COP26, “Either we stop it, or it stops us.” At Protect, we recognise ... Read more

Regulator whistleblowing reports shows huge variation in case number and action taken

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October is reporting month for ‘Prescribed Persons’ regulators who have a duty to publish their annual reports on the whistleblowing disclosures they receive each year, including information on the number of disclosures received, the number requiring further action, and the types of action taken – and the numbers received by regulators over 2020/21 varies widely.   Regulators designated ‘prescribed persons’ under UK whistleblowing law have  since 2017,   been required to publish ... Read more

Why fashion retailers should ‘be more Boohoo’ when it comes to operations and supply chain transparency  

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We all learn from mistakes. Boohoo showed retailers what can happen when a ‘fashion house’ is not in order – Protect believes a transparency pledge may be the way forward. The Boohoo story of poor and Covid unsafe working practices broke during the height of the pandemic. Since then, an independent review by Alison Levitt … Read more

Why NDAs need reform 

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 Maria Miller MP, former Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, had the first reading of her 10-minute rule bill ( September 14) calling for the reform of non-disclosure agreements.  Miller’s Bill proposes to make it a basic principle of our legal system that no one, however powerful, can buy an employee’s silence if there are allegations of wrongdoing in ... Read more

Protect’s Head of Advice & Advocacy blogs on Lewis Silkin secondment 

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Whilst Protect does a lot of work with businesses on helping them improve their whistleblowing arrangements, in my role as the Head of Advice, most of my typical day at Protect was previously spent supporting individuals. During my six-month secondment at law firm Lewis Silkin, which began in March, I worked across the Employment and Commercial Dispute Resolution ... Read more

Time to level up speaking up across all sectors

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In a guest blog for the National Guardian’s Speak Up Month, Protect Chief Executive Liz Gardiner says ‘it’s time to level speaking up across all sectors’ The record number of healthcare workers speaking up to Freedom to Speak Up Guardians is good news for patient safety and for us all. Our mantra at Protect, the … Read more

Can a whistleblowing policy help prevent fraud and strengthen cyber security?

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Cybercrime is one of the most disruptive frauds that organisations face so we need tools that improve protections for businesses – and indeed for customers, clients and the wider public affected by fraud. PWC’s global economic crime survey 2020 revealed fraud and economic crime are at record highs in the UK, and FCA and others … Read more