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Welcome to our August Newsletter
Our latest research shows that regulators have adopted an inconsistent and patchy approach to their duty to report annually on the number of whistleblowing concerns they’ve received and the actions taken. While the requirement to report may have increased openness and transparency, more work is needed if it is to achieve the aim of increasing whistleblowers’ confidence that they’ll be listened to and that action will be taken. We’ve reviewed all the annual reports published since 2017 and identified some best practice which we’ve published in this Guide.
We recognise the challenges that regulators face. Over the period 2017 – 2021 the number of whistleblowing cases that they’ve reported on has almost tripled. This month HMRC revealed that it received close to 14,000 furlough fraud whistleblower reports. It has been estimated that £5.2 billion in government furlough money was lost to fraud and error, and it is good to see the enforcement action being taken. However, the lesson of furlough fraud was that many small employers had no whistleblowing arrangements and workers had to go to the regulator. Had workers been listened to when raising concerns to their employers, the scale of loss to the taxpayer might have been minimised.
Earlier this month we responded to the governments legislative proposals to address SLAPPS as a step in the right direction. We welcome the proposals to strengthen and formalise the court's ability to strike out SLAPPs at an early stage and cap punishing legal costs brought by well-resourced clients against journalists and whistleblowers. We await the detailed proposals.
Finally, this month we welcome Pankaj Sharma to the Business Support team and Gabriel Radonich joins the Advice team. Michelle Munro joins us as an intern to support our policy work. Sadly we say goodbye to legal adviser Emma Darlow Stearn who is leaving to become a barrister, and to Rhiannon Plimmer-Craig, our Policy and Parliamentary Officer who is joining the civil service. Both have supported countless whistleblowers on our advice line and have been central to our policy work. Thank you so much Emma and Rhiannon and good luck!
Protect Summer offer, £50 off our Masterclasses,
This summer Protect is offering £50 off our whistleblowing masterclasses until 30 Sept 2022 including:
Handling a Whistleblowing Concern 31 August 10AM-12PM
Investigating a Whistleblowing Concern 7 September 10AM-12PM
Preventing Victimisation to the Whistleblower 14 September 10AM-12PM
Financial Services Whistleblowing Champions' Masterclass - co delivered with BDBF partner Nick Wilcox 21 September 9:30AM-12PM
Email business@protect-advice.org.uk for more info or book here
A step in the right direction against SLAPPs
Protect’s Head of Policy, Andrew Pepper-Parsons, discusses the Government’s ideas for tackling SLAPPs and how they might benefit whistleblowers.
In his foreword to the Government’s Consultation Response, in which new proposals to take action against SLAPPs are outlined, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab highlights the threat they pose to the UK:
‘Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation', or SLAPPs, are a growing threat to freedom of speech and a free press – fundamental liberties that are the lifeblood of our democracy.’
What happens when whistleblowers go to regulators? Conclusions and questions from 4 years’ worth of data
At Protect, we advise thousands of whistleblowers a year on their public interest concerns. We signpost many of them to regulators and professional bodies on the Government’s list of prescribed persons when their employer fails to address their concerns, or when they cannot raise a concern with their employer, often for fear of reprisal. Prescribed persons consequentially play a crucial role in the UK’s whistleblowing structure (the current list can be seen here).
Since 2017, prescribed persons have been subject to a whistleblowing reporting duty. The aim of this
Letter: Give whistleblowers compensation, not a US bounty system, From Elizabeth Gardiner, Chief Executive, Protect
Compensating whistleblowers for the risk they face in reporting fraud is unarguable — and is why damages at employment tribunals for whistleblowing claims must remain uncapped, reflecting potentially lifelong career losses. However, suggesting the UK follow the US system of “rewards” for whistleblowing (“HMRC urged to boost whistleblower payouts in evasion fight”, Report, August 24) is based on a misconception.
Whistleblowers may receive eyepopping amounts in the US but the proportion of whistleblowers who receive anything is tiny. In 2021, the US Internal Revenue Service received over 14,000 claims but only 179 whistleblowers received payments. US whistleblowers must expose frauds involving hundreds of thousands of dollars, and information must lead to successful collection of the proceeds of fraud. Rewards bear no relation to the damage done to the whistleblower and do nothing to compensate the many thousands raising valid
Read the full FT letter here
HR urged to be proactive as HMRC receives 14,000 furlough fraud whistleblower reports
Whistleblowing cases relating to furlough fraud are increasing, with law firm Pinsent Masons reporting that 13,775 furlough fraud whistleblowing reports have now been made to HMRC.
Research from whistleblowing charity Protect found that almost six in 10 whistleblowers received no response from their employer when raising furlough leave concerns at the time of the scheme.
Liz Gardiner, chief executive of Protect, added that at the start of the pandemic many employees knew furlough was being claimed for them, even if they were working, but they risked dismissal if they refused to work. She added that many workers the charity receives calls for advice from wanted to raise concerns but had no recourse to internal whistleblowing services or channels to raise the issue with their employer. “Therefore, one of the lessons of furlough fraud is that employers should have effective whistleblowing arrangements in place. When workers raise ethical or fraudulent concerns, employers should listen, investigate and, where appropriate, act,” she said.
“Had more furlough whistleblowers been listened to by employers, the scale of this loss to the taxpayer may have been minimised.”
Read the full article from People Management, here
Podcast: Whistleblower: An Angel, A Villain, Or A Bloody Fool? Stephen Kamugasa speaks to Protect founder, Guy Dehn
The late Nelson Mandela, speaking at the British Red Cross Humanity lecture in 2003, said: “Those who conduct themselves with integrity and consistency need not fear the forces of inhumanity and cruelty.”
In these vacillating times in which leaders, and even scholars, almost believe, that truth and integrity as they relate to civic life are but two values of many, and will have to stand their test, and in all probability, will fail as many human system of values and ethics have done. It is appropriate for us to interrogate whether whistleblowing is a civic value worth its weight in gold. We do so by asking a simple question: Is a whistleblower an angel, a villain, or a bloody fool?
Listen to the full podcast here
Interview: The role of regulators in protecting whistleblowers, with Mark Steward of the FCA
For World Whistleblowers Day 2022, on 23rd June 2022, our CEO Liz Gardiner spoke with Mark Steward of the Financial Conduct Authority about his view on the role of the regulator in protecting whistleblowers from victimisation and in challenging toxic cultures in the workplace.
Liz: What would you say the role of regulators is in preventing and deterring the victimisation of whistleblowers?
Mark Steward: The vast majority of those who
Private Banker Wins Early Battle In Whistleblowing Claim
However, on 17 August she temporarily won her job back at an early hearing of her case claiming she was unfairly fired from her job after whistleblowing to the UK's pension regulator.
She utilised the procedure of Interim Relief, which is a very powerful tool for whistleblowers who act fast when dismissed.
Read the full article from law360.com here
What should you do if you've raised a concern but its still unresolved?
If you have raised your concern with your line manager or someone equivalent and they ignored you or denied any wrongdoing, you may want to escalate the concern to someone more senior. This can often help to bring objectivity and oversight to your concerns as your line manager may be required to justify their decision.
In order to do this, you should find out whether your employer has a Whistleblowing or Speak Up policy which should explain the proper procedure for you to follow. Whistleblowing or Speak Up policies will often have named individuals for you to contact or identify a specific department that handles whistleblowing concerns.
My time at Protect
Protect volunteer, Mathilde Woolford, discusses her experience volunteering for Protect and the experiences and opportunities it gave her
In May 2022, I spent a week with the Protect team, a chance to completely immerse myself in whistleblowing law and client-company relations. Prior to my week spent with them, I had been briefed on what it was going to look like: packed with educational masterclasses, presentation preparations and team meetings, as well as sitting alongside the charity’s legal director, Sybille, and legal advisers in a prominent whistleblowing court case. Being given the opportunity to be behind the scenes with the UK’s leading whistleblowing
Do you fear you will be punished if you raise concerns at work? Contact Protect on 020 3117 2520 for free, confidential advice and support.
Please help us to support more whistleblowers on our free, confidential, Advice Line.
