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work safety

Side effects of speaking up as a social worker

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Eleanor* was a social worker, whose work often brought her to her local hospital to support patients. Over time, she grew increasingly uneasy about the inadequate handling of patient safety, and decisions not being taken in the best interests of vulnerable people. She felt that a manager appeared to be discharging patients who weren’t ready to go home.

Standing Up for Standards: A Police Officer’s Struggle to Address Unqualified Police Trainers 

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As a new recruit in the police force, Mary* was shocked to discover what was happening amongst police officers in her area. Mary knows that so-called “trainers” are responsible for teaching police officers how to do their job and issuing licenses to those who have completed their training. However, Mary came across compelling evidence suggesting that more than a hundred trainers themselves were unqualified and lacked oversight of who had completed their training.

Is the construction industry Building Safety Regulator ready?

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Key building safety proposals from the Hackitt review following the Grenfell Tower tragedy will finally be implemented this year when the Building Safety Bill is made law. But many – Dame Judith Hackitt included – are urging the construction sector to start preparation now for the new measures coming into force by 2023. The public … Read more

Education worker bullied for raising health and safety concerns

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Mary (not their real name) worked at an independent school for children with special educational needs. She was only there only a short time when she started having a number of health and safety concerns about the school. Mary never received any appropriate health and safety training from the organisation, despite being designated the lead … Read more

A year like no other for Protect’s Advice Line

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The 16 March 2020 will be remembered as a key moment in how Covid-19 affected the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that evening that all of the UK, if possible, should work from home. Effective immediately. For over a quarter of a century, Protect has been providing free legal advice to whistleblowers through … Read more

Food producer exposes goods to contamination

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Blake (not his real name) worked as an engineer for a food producer. He was concerned that products were not being properly cleaned during production and goods were being exposed to contaminated water and excess chemicals. He also told us that the warehouse where he worked did not have a safe fire alarm system.

Blake raised his concerns confidentially to the CEO but no action was taken – instead, he was threatened with disciplinary action. Blake raised concerns to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), but the employer was given enough notice of an investigation to superficially address the concerns. Blake was forced to resign and sought advice on making a claim for constructive dismissal. 

We identified that Blake was fast approaching the time limit for bringing a claim so we suggested that he try to argue that he had suffered a continuing act of detriment over many months and seek urgent advice from his Trade Union. The HSE had since revisited the warehouse on several occasions and Blake was satisfied that the regulator was taking action. Blake submitted his claim in the Employment Tribunal in time and his case is to be heard in late 2020.

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Whistleblower exposed to asbestos speaks up to regulator

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Tom (not his real name) worked for an asbestos removal company for several years. A foreman in the company was ignoring the safety procedures for handling asbestos and failed to test a connecting room where Tom was working. This exposed Tom to white asbestos and he contacted Protect for advice.

We advised Tom to seek advice from his GP to create a record of his medical concerns, particularly as asbestos symptoms can develop slowly. Tom had previously raised concerns to an analyst so we advised him to write to her to confirm their telephone conversation. We explored Tom’s personal situation and the outcome he most desired, and we explained his options were either to raise his concerns internally, leave the company and raise his concerns to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), or take advice from a personal injury specialist. We also suggested that he ask the HSE how they were likely to respond to a concern such as this before providing them with all of the details.

Tom decided to find a new job and raise his concerns to the HSE. He thanked us for our advice which he said had been very helpful.

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