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Protect – Speak up stop harm
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Free, confidential whistleblowing advice
Call us on 020 3117 2520 or email us

Wrongdoing ignored and those who speak up victimised at alarming levels

by

Protect, the UK’s leading whistleblowing charity, which provides free legal advice to whistleblowers, says that employers are still ignoring serious concerns raised by those in the workplace.

Publishing its impact report on the state of whistleblowing in the UK in 2025, the charity found:

  • Thirty‑eight per cent of whistleblowers calling Protect for advice say that after raising concerns about wrongdoing, malpractice or risk in their workplace, the issues were ignored.
  • Seven in ten (71%) of whistleblowers who contact the charity for advice say they have been dismissed, victimised, or have resigned from their job after blowing the whistle.
  • Despite a focus on the issue, concerns about harassment and discrimination in the workplace remain stubbornly high – at 14% of calls.
  • Protect’s services are needed more than ever – the charity reported an 8% increase in new cases in 2025 compared with 2024.

 

Elizabeth Gardiner, Joint Chief Executive, said:

“For too long whistleblowers have been let down by a system that is far too passive in holding employers to account when they retaliate against staff who speak up about wrongdoing. More worrying is the lack of accountability for employers who ignore the serious public interest issues raised by their own staff.

“The impact of ignoring whistleblowers ripples out from harm to the individual to damage the employer, to costs the taxpayer.  So many scandals and disasters— from Post Office/Horizon IT to the Lucy Letby case—could have been prevented had staff been listened to when they identified problems at an earlier stage.  The Government’s forthcoming review of whistleblowing needs to address failings in accountability and restore whistleblowers’ and the wider public’s confidence that those who speak up to stop harm are heard and protected.”

Protect is calling on the Government to improve protection for whistleblowers by:

  • Creating a legal requirement for all employers to investigate whistleblowing concerns raised by staff.
  • Extending the types of wrongdoing covered by whistleblowing law to include waste of public funds and abuse of authority.

Expanding whistleblowing protection to cover all those in the workplace including trustees, job applicants and self‑employed contractors.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:
For more information, please contact:
press@protect-advice.org.uk
07399 128124

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