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Welcome to our June Newsletter
Over 200 delegates joined us to celebrate the courage of whistleblowers at our World Whistleblowers Day webinar. Too often all we hear is the awful experience of whistleblowing, so we wanted to reflect on the profound changes whistleblowers can bring when they raise public interest concerns. We heard from anti-racism campaigner and ex-professional cricketer Azeem Rafiq on how his whistleblowing changed the culture of cricket. Azeem’s message to treat whistleblowers with humanity was heartfelt. Former NHS Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, Georgina Charlton spoke about practical steps to take to protect whistleblowers and Linklaters employment partner Nicola Rabson offered advice to employers on creating a psychologically safe workplace culture. We also heard from Mark Steward of the Financial Conduct Authority on the regulator’s view of the dangers of leaving victimisation of whistleblowers unchallenged.
You can view the full recording here.
In Westminster this month, MPs debated the government's National Security Bill. We have published a full briefing expressing our concern that the new bill is too widely drawn and that it fails to provide a public interest defence. In its current draft, the bill puts whistleblowers at risk of prison sentences for speaking up, especially those who may expose a trade secret when speaking up against corruption. Our Head of Policy Andrew Pepper Parsons, also spoke with OpenDemocracy about our concerns. Also this month the Bill of Rights was published. While the government says that it will strengthen freedom of speech, we share widespread concerns that the proposals will reduce the ability of courts to hold the government accountable, and make it more difficult to bring human rights claims.
I spoke about developments in whistleblowing at a webinar organised by AIRMIC (the association for those with risk management and insurance responsibilities) and our Legal Director Sybille Raphael spoke at the International Forum of Senior Executive Advisers (IFSEA) conference organised by CM Murray. We see a strong connection between effective whistleblowing arrangements and ESG, and this session discussed the impact of climate change and the strategies used by workers to make their employers take note of greenwashing claims. Creating and nurturing a healthy speak-up culture will be key to delivering on ESG values and preventing greenwashing.
Discussion has intensified recently in the whistleblowing community as to whether the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) is worth maintaining. A new Private Members Bill has been proposed by Baroness Kramer which once again suggests that PIDA should be repealed. This month we have published our response highlighting why we believe whistleblowers need employment rights and how PIDA has helped countless whistleblowers. Whilst we agree whistleblowing law must be improved and updated, we strongly believe PIDA should be reformed rather than repealed. Read the full response here.
Finally, in staff news we say a sad farewell to Isaac Heather, one of our excellent legal advisers, who is moving on to train to be a criminal lawyer with the CPS. Isaac has taken countless calls and helped many whistleblowers in his time with us and will be sorely missed. Thank you so much Isaac and good luck!
Blowing the whistle on racism, with Azeem Rafiq
In 2020, former professional cricketer, Azeem Rafiq blew the whistle on shocking institutional racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club. He spoke with our CEO Liz Gardiner at Protect’s webinar for World Whistleblower Day 2022 about his experience of speaking up, the struggles he faced, the successes he achieved and what changes he wants to see in cricket in how whistleblowers are treated, and racism is addressed.
Liz: The concerns you’ve raised about racism have been well documented, but today we are really interested about your journey as a whistleblower in trying to raise concerns. Can
A senior district nurse in County Durham who was unfairly dismissed for being a whistleblower has won more than £460,000 in compensation.
The money was awarded to Linda Fairhall by an employment tribunal on 31 May, following a two-day hearing. The award is compensation for unfair dismissal and loss of earnings.
After 38 years working for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, Ms Fairhall was dismissed in 2018 shortly after saying she would initiate whistleblowing procedures.
Read the full article from the Nursing Times here.
Protecting national security at the expense of the public interest: a zero sum game?
Protect Legal Adviser, Emma Darlow Stearn, responds to the governments new National Security Bill, highlighting the grave risk it poses to whistleblowing and the fight against corruption and wrongdoing.
With no specific safeguards for whistleblowers and legal uncertainty regarding whistleblower liability, the National Security Bill (“the bill”), in its current form, is likely to have a chilling effect on whistleblowing, meaning public interest concerns about corruption, fraud and other wrongdoing go unchecked.
How do you calculate compensation in whistleblowing unfair dismissal claims?
The compensation available in whistleblowing unfair dismissal claims is made up of two elements:
1) The basic award (a fixed sum that you calculate using a standard formula)
2) The compensatory award (compensation for the actual money you lost because you were dismissed).
You should start by working out what the basic award will be and then calculate the compensatory award.
In both cases, the Tribunal can apply ‘reductions’. The compensatory award can also get an ‘uplift’ for example, if your employer did not follow the ACAS codes of practice.
Whistleblowing, where should we go?
In this long read Protect Legal Director, Sybille Raphael, responds to recent attempts to scrap the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA). She explains why we oppose this move and why it is vital we continue to ensure whistleblowers in the workplace are protected by employment rights.
There have recently been proposals to repeal PIDA (the Public Interest Disclosure Act) and dissociate whistleblower protection from employment rights altogether (1).
Protect, the UK whistleblowing charity, was established in 1993 to “promote ethical standards
Upcoming whistleblowing masterclasses
Masterclass: Whistleblowing & Tackling Sexual Harassment 15 June 10AM - 12PM
Investigating a Whistleblowing Concern 6 July 10AM - 12PM
Masterclass: Whistleblowing and ESG 7 July 10AM - 12PM
Preventing Victimisation to the Whistleblower 13 July 10AM - 12PM
Handling a Whistleblowing Concern 31 August 10AM - 12PM
Email business@protect-advice.org.uk for more info or book here
How do we fix speak up in the NHS? With Georgina Charlton
After the shocking findings of the Ockenden Review into the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust about the state of the maternity services, many have questioned the merits of the whistleblowing system in the NHS and demanded change to improve patient safety and workplace conditions. For World Whistleblowers’ Day, our CEO Liz Gardiner interviewed Georgina Charlton, a former FTSU Guardian to discuss the poor speak up culture in parts of the NHS and how to fix it.
Liz: As a former FTSU Guardian, how deep rooted would you say the issues facing the
National Security Bill: UK’s latest crackdown on journalists explained
UK MPs are set to debate the government’s new ‘national security’ law, which could criminalise public interest journalism while granting ministers immunity from involvement in war crimes.
Priti Patel’s National Security Bill, unveiled in the Queen’s Speech last month, would make it an offence for journalists to report ‘restricted’ official information in the public interest if they or their organisation has received funding from a foreign state.
Protect, the UK’s leading whistleblower charity, criticised the bill for failing to safeguard whistleblowing.
“The offences are so widely drawn that our fear is that whistleblowers who reveal a trade secret while raising concerns about fraud or corruption to foreign regulator or law enforcement such as the FBI or to a foreign-owned media outlet could be committing a criminal offence that carries a sentence of life in prison,” said Andrew Pepper-Parsons, the organisation’s head of policy.
Read the full article from OpenDemocracy here.
A tale of two Facebook whistleblowers
Frances Haugen and Daniel Motaung have contrasting experiences of taking on the world’s biggest social media company
Last week in London, two whistleblowers bound by a common experience and a single company came together in solidarity. Frances Haugen rose to prominence in 2021 as a whistleblower from inside Facebook, now known as Meta. Daniel Motaung, a 30-year-old South African law student, is less well-known but worked as a content moderator for the company in Kenya through a third-party firm called Sama.
Speaking out against injustice in your workplace is never easy. A woman I talked to later that evening said she was moved to tears by the panel discussion. She had worked with several whistleblowers and knew they often regretted what they did and shrank from the limelight afterwards, for good reason. The fact that Motaung was clearly struggling to cope yet said he would blow the whistle all over again, was rare, she told me. “That’s courage.”
Read the fulll article from the Financial Times here.
Advice Line Update - Which sectors do whistleblowers contact us from?
Protect’s Advice Line is a unique support to whistleblowers across the country, providing legal advice, emotional support and practical guidance for free to those in need.
We receive calls from whistleblowers across the entire economy. However, we seem to receive a particularly high number of calls from whistleblowers working in the education, care, health,
Please help us to support more whistleblowers on our free, confidential, Advice Line.
