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.