September Newsletter

Dear ,

In this month’s edition,

• the final outcome for whistleblowing reform in the Employment Rights Bill
• Hillsborough Law will include duty of candour
• new guidance for colleges and academies to manage the risk of fraud

Following months of campaigning and intense lobbying, this month the government voted to overturn an amendment in the Employment Rights Bill that would have strengthened protections for whistleblowers.

We supported this critical amendmentl which would have required the government to broaden unfair dismissal grounds and, for the first time, require large employers to take reasonable steps to investigate whistleblowing concerns. Despite strong cross-party support government MPs voted to remove the amendment.

While not a win for whistleblowing law reform, we see this as taking two steps forward, and one step back. Whistleblowing was raised throughout the bill’s progress and this amendment not only received majority support from the Lords, it also had the backing from the opposition benches in the Commons. A significant move is that government ministers have conceded that whistleblowing law is badly out of date and in need of fixing.

On the upside, the Employment Rights Bill includes some real advancements for whistleblowing, specifically focused on addressing sexual harassment in the workplace and restricting the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

Published this month, the long-awaited Public Office (Accountability) “Hillsborough” Bill includes a new requirement on public bodies to publish codes of ethical conduct, including information on how to blow the whistle. In practice every hospital, school, police force, government department, local authority and further education provider will have to publish their whistleblowing policy.
 
Good policies won’t just tell people how to raise concerns, but encourage them to do so, and set out clear sanctions for those who victimise or ignore whistleblowers. Of course, a policy is just the first step – and embedding understanding through training and open workplace cultures are just as important. Do check out our initial thoughts on what the new Duty of Candour means for whistleblowers.

Elizabeth Gardiner & Sybille Raphael
Protect Joint-Chief Executives

Freedom to Speak Up

This month has seen the publication of the annual report of the National Guardian’s Office – the body that supports whistleblowing systems across the healthcare system in England. The Office oversees a national network of Freedom to Speak Up guardians – legally required in all NHS and healthcare settings – who provide a channel for raising concerns and help ensure issues are addressed constructively.

Their latest data, covering the 2024/25 period, found that Freedom to Speak Up guardians received their highest number of cases since the programme began. This was calculated at 38,158 cases, an 18% increase on 2023/24. Concerns related to worker safety or wellbeing rose by a significant 36 per cent to 14,171 cases, and alongside inappropriate behaviours and attitudes these were the most commonly reported issues, both featuring in 40 per cent of all cases.

For potential whistleblowers within the NHS, and other health settings, it is troubling to read that confidence in organisations to address concerns is in decline and a fear of detriment or a belief that speaking up will not make a difference remains a key barrier of speaking up.

Following the publication of the Dash review the National Guardian’s Office is scheduled to close, with its functions transitioning to NHS England. While the government has made assurances that empowering workers to speak up remains a national priority, this structural change will certainly have an impact and needs to be smoothly managed.

Photo by Redd Francisco on Unsplash

Fraud guidance for education providers

New guidance has been issued for education and training providers on how to identify and combat fraud. The advice – which name-checks Protect as a trusted source of information – has been tailored for academy trusts, colleges and independent training providers. You can find the new guidance here. It provides:

• general advice on fraud
• suggestions for developing counter fraud policies and approaches
• information on cyber related fraud

From the beginning of this month, the rules on fraud got much tougher. Under the new Failure to Prevent Fraud offence in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA), large organisations can now face unlimited fines if they benefit from fraud - even when senior leaders had no direct involvement. Whistleblowing is key to addressing fraud – for several years in a row, research has shown that fraud is most often uncovered through tip-offs, including from employees. Whistleblowers can be the biggest asset when it comes to spotting wrongdoing in the workplace.

Find out more about how Protect can help you take strong, proactive steps to develop your organisation’s whistleblowing culture.

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

Protect Membership Forum

This month we held one of our quarterly meetings for Protect employer members – one of the regular events providing updates on developments in whistleblowing and employment law and an opportunity for peer to peer learning and troubleshooting. The webinar provided some lively discussions on the practicalities of engaging third-party suppliers for whistleblowing investigations and shared insights on how the upcoming Employment Rights Bill will impact both employers and employees. We also shared a snapshot of our statistics from our whistleblowing Advice Line, showcasing the categories and types of concerns raised.

As well as the Members Forum, we hold a number of events and webinars throughout the year focused on topical issues and members have priority to book places on our award-winning training courses.

To find out more about becoming a Protect member today please contact a member of the team.

Upcoming training

• This Wednesday (1st October) we are running our one-day in-person training providing a full overview of whistleblowing in the workplace. The training covers best approaches to managing whistleblowers and you'll also have the opportunity to audit your own whistleblowing policy against best practice and review your whistleblowing setup in a confidential and supportive space. Places are still available - do get in touch if you like to join.

• On 15th October our masterclass for Whistleblowing Champions working in Financial Services covers the requirements of the role as set out by the FCA and explains how to embed and evaluate best practice whistleblowing arrangements. Over the course of the session you will gain a better understanding of how to handle whistleblowing disclosures appropriately and learn the best approaches to managing anonymity, confidentiality and protecting whistleblowers.

Podcast corner

This month we’ve seen an abundance of podcasts focused on whistleblowing, anti-corruption and employment law.

In a recent episode of Morton Fraser MacRoberts’ podcast, David Hossack is joined by Protect’s very own Rebecca Linford to discuss our research on how views on raising concerns about work differ across the generations. 

In PoliticsHome’s podcast The Rundown – a panel of experts, including Spotlight on Corruption’s Sue Hawley, Lloyd Hatton MP, Transparency International UK’s Daniel Bruce and investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan discuss potential answers to the perennial problem of how to clean up politics.

And Emma Darlow Stearn – Protect alumni, and now practising barrister at Cloisters Chambers – is interviewed on the latest episode of the Law Pod UK podcast discussing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The episode also features Zelda Perkins, CEO of Can’t Buy My Silence UK and former PA to Harvey Weinstein, who shares her personal story about the signing and breaking of her NDA and about her campaign which has in large part led to amendments to the Employment Rights Bill.

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