The UK Government, under the leadership of Kevin Hollinrake MP in his capacity as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Enterprise and Markets is reviewing the whistleblowing framework.

Kevin Hollinrake MP has stated that:

“Whistleblowing is a vital tool in tackling economic crime and unsafe working conditions, and the UK was one of the first countries in the world to develop a whistleblowing framework.

This review has been a priority for me since joining the government, and it will take stock of whether the whistleblowing framework is operating effectively and protects those who call out wrongdoing in the workplace.”

The review will gather evidence on the effectiveness of the current regime in enabling workers to speak up about wrongdoing and protect those who do so.

TTF is keen to help ensure our thoughts are known because of the disastrous way that Financial Services whistleblowers have been treated over the years.

Our event will be a first class opportunity for us to discuss and debate the key issues and to create the basis for our response to the review. 

Whistleblowing refers to when a worker makes a disclosure of information which they reasonably believe shows wrongdoing or someone covering up wrongdoing.  Workers who blow the whistle are entitled to protections, which were introduced through the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA). Successive governments have taken steps to strengthen whistleblowing policy and practice.

But high-profile whistleblowers including TTF member Paul Carlier will be explaining how PIDA is failing whistleblowers. 

Paul Carlier states: 

“Speaking from personal experience, and despite repeated claims as to the better protection for whistleblowers by the likes of employees and regulators, employees that blow the whistle today have actually never been as vulnerable as they are in the present environment. 

The concept of ‘protection’ is little more than an illusion, and a very dangerous one that encourages employees to speak up and come forward like lambs to the slaughter. The problem is that no employee will realise just how vulnerable they are, and not become aware of the illusion until it’s too late. 

I will be explaining why, and how employees can obtain protection.”

TTF is fully supportive of that sentiment and we look forward to hearing about the insights and experiences of Paul and the other high-profile whistleblowers at our event. 

The full terms of reference for the review are available here.