Water companies don’t seem to be able to stay out of the headlines. In the past year alone there have been 300,000 instances of firms discharging raw sewage into rivers and seas – most of these being illegal. Now Ofwat has released updated whistleblowing expectations for water companies. We ask whether this will help address wrongdoing in the industry and give would-be whistleblowers the courage to speak up.
The National Audit Office, the independent public spending watchdog, reports that progress to improve whistleblowing in the civil service is slow and inconsistent. Much has already been written about how difficult it is for civil servants to raise concerns outside of their department but this new look at what is happening inside government is disappointing.
We welcome this National Audit Office report into whistleblowing in the civil service. The report notes that whistleblowers are key to good government and challenge is critical to holding organisations to account. Recent scandals, including Greensill and Partygate, showed that people inside government knew about wrongdoing but may have been afraid to come forward.
When it comes to calling out wrongdoing in the workplace, could it be that some people are more likely to speak up than others? At Protect, a notable number of callers to our Advice Line identify as being neurodivergent and/or on the autistic spectrum. While this observation doesn’t prove a link, we think this warrants exploration.
Your monthly whistleblowing news update. This month: McDonald’s faces up to two sex abuse claims a week, employment tribunal rules on parliamentary privilege challenge in foreign office whistle-blowing case and following Lucy Letby, 71% of doctors say whistleblowing damages careers.
Josie Stewart, Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) whistleblower, who is bringing a claim that she was unfairly dismissed because she blew the whistle can’t rely on parts of her evidence because of Parliamentary Privilege.
Protect works with charities and their trustees in a variety of ways including training, consultancy, organisational membership and the benchmarking of whistleblowing arrangements. We are proud to offer trustees whistleblowing training that is specific to their role. Ensuring that they understand their responsibilities and obligations in overseeing their organisation’s whistleblowing arrangements, as well as how to escalate concerns and promote a culture where staff feel empowered to raise concerns.
As a member of the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition we have been closely following the progress of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECB2) through Parliament. Now passed into law this is the first anti-SLAPP provision in UK law. While this is definitely a step in the right direction, there’s still much more that could and … Read more
Protect’s Environmental Whistleblowing Toolkit New research by Protect shows that concerns about being fired or victimised at work are preventing people from calling out their employers on the climate crisis and the wider environment. (The Guardian) + Our new toolkit launched at the beginning of October, providing practical help for people considering blowing the whistle on … Read more
Whistleblowing charity Protect supports Labour’s proposed clarification to whistleblowing protection Elizabeth Gardiner, CEO of Protect, the UK’s whistleblowing charity said: Protect would welcome clarification of the law. We know, from talking to whistleblowers every day, that it is difficult for anyone to be certain whether they have the protection of whistleblowing law when it comes … Read more
