Labour is currently ahead 20% in the polls and expected to win by a massive landslide when the public goes to the polls for the UK General Election called for July 4th. One area where Labour have promised change is in whistleblowing protections. Whistleblowers play a vital role in combating corruption and maintaining security, with high profile whistleblowing cases often grabbing headlines and hopefully inspiring more employees to report bad practices in their own organisations. But the whistleblowing culture in the UK is weak. MPs have called on the civil service to create a ‘speak up’ environment to improve whistleblowing culture after finding a series of weaknesses in Whitehall’s handling of whistleblowing. In a recent report on the subject the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Civil Service suffers from an unsupportive culture when it comes to whistleblowing and called for a cultural change to raise awareness and provide assurance on the process. The problem extends to the private sector as well.  

The European Union passed legislation in 2019, before Brexit, to give whistleblowers more protection against retaliation. At that time the UK already passed the minimum standards and so were not required to adopt any new standards but Labour wants to expand whistleblowing protection as part of their anti-corruption campaign.

Labour have promised to strengthen protection for whistleblowers, including by updating protection for women who report sexual harassment at work. They’ve also pledged to give financial rewards to whistleblowers who expose stolen assets, sanctions breaches and recover misappropriated funds. The policy widely used in the US can see whistleblowers rewarded with 10-30% of fines if they provide evidence that leads to an enforcement action. Nearly 70% of the $72bn recovered by the US Department of Justice came from whistleblower tip offs.

Labour MP Rachel Reeves announced plans to create a powerful Covid corruption commissioner to help recover billions of pounds that was lost to fraud from Covid support schemes. Labour believes that a large chunk of that could be recouped, and has said that better whistleblowing benefits could encourage people to come forward and assist in efforts to get back the cash, which could, Reeves points out, be going to the NHS, to schools and to police. 

Whistleblowing policies

While some companies are concerned about addressing whistleblowing directly, perhaps because of fears that it will cultivate problems and cause additional work, the reality is that developing a whistleblowing culture can help a business identify problems and address issues before they develop into a crisis.

Organisations that do not facilitate whistleblowing are more likely to find problems emerging in the press or via trade bodies or regulators, which they must then try to explain. If concerns can be raised internally, organisations have a chance to remedy the problem, and can then organise a disclosure to the relevant authorities. By self-disclosing issues and concerns, organisations can prevent the impression that they are out-of-touch or unaware of what’s happening under their watch.

Whistleblowing is likely to increase further under a Labour government. The question for charities, businesses and public-sector organisations is: do you want to take control of whistleblowing or do you want to be led by it?

Why is Whistleblowing Training Important?

Education is a powerful means of generating awareness. Introducing mandatory whistleblowing training for your staff members helps to promote a whistleblowing culture in your organisation. It is important to promote whistleblowing in your organisation because it facilitates early detection of fraud and misconduct. Workers are typically the first people to identify misconduct within organisations. Therefore, encouraging them to come to you immediately allows you to swiftly put an end to the wrongdoing and mitigate any risks and repercussions. An open appreciation and promotion of whistleblowing within your organisation means that staff are more likely to report whistleblowing internally, rather than turning to external bodies. This is beneficial as it allows you to determine whether the issue can be managed internally or whether it requires escalating to the appropriate authorities. Self-reporting is looked upon favourably and often results in financial benefits and more lenient punishments. Also, if legal action is not required the misconduct can be handled entirely within your organisation, preventing a public scandal. Even if reporting is required, you will not be caught off guard by the authorities and the press, allowing you to properly prepare for the attention.

The General Election and Compliance – Special Webinar

Every sector could be impacted and every area of compliance is likely to be reviewed by the next government. From overhauls of financial services regulation, reviews of data protection law, closer alignment with EU regulations and an expansion of health and safety protections, the next parliament will see compliance at the centre of the regulatory agenda.

With everything from whistleblowing reform to overhauls of corporate governance, new employment rights like menopause leave and expanded equal pay rules, alongside crackdowns on tax evasion and expansion of the money laundering regulations, organisations large and small should prepare for the outcome of the general election.

This webinar will cover:

• What the main parties are pledging on key compliance areas
• Potential changes to legislation including the Equality Act, sexual harassment and employment rights
• Expected legislation on AML, bribery, sanctions, fraud and economic crime
• Possible expansion of regulations around GDPR, AI and health and safety
• Preparing your organisation for future regulatory changes and new requirements