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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

Report calls for reform of Government as public confidence in Ministers at all time low

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A new report by the Committee on Standards in Public Life - “Upholding Public Standards” recognises the importance of high ethical standards to democracy and economic success.  Yet, as its polling reveals, public confidence in the conduct of Ministers is low. The Committee - which advises the PM on ethical standards, calls for central government reforms, including legislation to put ethics regulators and the codes that ... Read more

New upcoming Masterclass: Handling sexual harassment & whistleblowing concerns in the workplace

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Protect is running a new Masterclass: Handling sexual harassment & whistleblowing concerns in the workplace aimed at senior individuals including HR, Compliance, Legal and Audit roles who are responsible for internal arrangements and whistleblowing culture. The session will include an overview of sexual harassment in the workplace and rights and duties in equality law, as ... Read more

Will the BBC learn to listen to whistleblowers?

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Lord Dyson’s inquiry into Martin Bashir and the BBC has found that not only did Bashir commit a “serious breach” of BBC rules, he also found the BBC fell short of “integrity and transparency” in its failure to conduct a thorough investigation into Bashir’s conduct; their cover-up into such facts, and their failure to disclose ... Read more

Whistleblowing on workplace sexual harassment

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The #MeToo movement has undoubtedly given courage to many others to come forward and call out unwanted, unwelcome sexual harassment in the workplace. It has also shown the sheer scale of it. At work, employers have a duty of care or responsibility to look after the wellbeing of their employees. Under the Equality Act 2010, ... Read more

EY drops appeal in Dubai whistleblowing case

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Protect has welcomed the decision by professional services firm EY to drop its appeal in the case brought against the firm by whistleblower and former EY partner, Amjad Rihan. The case concerned allegations that EY had covered up the adverse findings of a sustainability audit into the Dubai Gold trade, including evidence of money laundering and ... Read more

Where does whistleblowing fit in the Ministerial Code?

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The employment case between Home Secretary Priti Patel and former senior civil servant Sir Philip Rutnam may have concluded with a settlement agreement – but the case has thrown up many questions around whistleblowing culture within Government and reform of the Ministerial Code. The case has been reported to have been settled for £340,000 plus … Read more

International Development Committee into sexual exploitation: 57% think aid organisation whistleblowing policies and practices inadequate

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The recent report, Progress on tackling the sexual exploitation and abuse of aid beneficiaries, by the International Development Committee, has found abuse of beneficiaries to be rife with the aid sector and the last safe haven for perpetrators. The report also found that when victims or whistle-blowers try to report abuse, little meaningful action follows, ... Read more

Finance worker speaks up over fake charges to clients

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Patrick worked as an adviser in the financial services industry. He was concerned that his employer had been breaching Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations for a number of years. In particular, Patrick’s firm was charging clients for advice that it had not given and it assessed the performance of its employees by using targets that … Read more

Social worker speaks up about inappropriate relationship

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Andre (not his real name) was a residential social worker in a children’s home. He was increasingly concerned that a colleague, Lionel (not his real name), seemed to have developed a close relationship with a 12 year old girl in the home. During a holiday, Lionel insisted that the girl should travel in his car alone with him and he spent a lot of time with her during the holiday.

Andre and a colleague raised their concerns discreetly to the local authority who launched an investigation and put Lionel on special leave. Once the investigation concluded, Lionel returned to work and Andre called Protect worried that this was the wrong decision.

We advised Andre to contact the Head of Child Protection at the local authority to explain his concerns. However, we also clarified that it was for the local authority to decide the appropriate action and what mattered was that it was sure that Lionel was not a risk. We highlighted that Lionel’s return to the home did not mean that no action had been taken. Andre spoke to the local authority and felt reassured with its decision as he knew that it would monitor the home and remind staff of the value of whistleblowing.

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