The Future of Whistleblowing in the UK
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Learn Live with Culture Shift: In this webinar series we discussed the changes being proposed to the UK’s law on whistleblowing, how it might affect employers .
Whistleblowing is often seen as the act of reporting information of malpractice that could have a detrimental impact on business and one that is seen as “in the public interest”. But it doesn’t just mean a criminal offence, fraud, financial misconduct, health and safety issues, a miscarriage of justice or the covering up of the aforementioned. It could and should be used for anything an employee sees as a failure on their employer’s part to rectify or stop, including bullying, discrimination and harassment.
But did you know, YouGov research in 2021 unveiled that only 31% of people knew how to raise a whistleblowing concern at work? And a staggering 46% said they didn’t know if their employer even has a whistleblowing policy?
At the moment, whistleblowers are protected from unfair treatment at work if they disclose information. However, there is a Protection for Whistleblowing Bill currently going through Parliament. But what is it and what will it mean for both organisations and their people?
In the first episode of our series, our CEO and Co-Founder Gemma McCall talked to WhistleblowersUK CEO Georgina Halford-Hall about what changes the bill would bring and how your organisation can be prepared for it.
In the second episode, we discussed why although whistleblowing can be a powerful tool to uphold the integrity and strength of a business, those who do are often punished for speaking up. We know some of the biggest barriers to reporting anything at work is the fear of repercussions or retaliation, as well as not being able to remain anonymous and not thinking they will be believed or taken seriously. This panel discussion brought together HR expert Alastair Swindlehurst, Founder of EZHR, and NHS whistleblower Peter Duffy, who bravely recounted the ordeal he went through in a bid to encourage employers not to repeat the same mistakes of his former organisation. They talked frankly about what it takes to speak up about misconduct in the workplace, and touched on proven ways of implementing policy change and encouraging people to speak up without fear.
What we're reading
Latest insights from the front lines of workplace culture.
The Junior-Senior Speak-Up Divide: What the Data Reveals About Hierarchy and Silence
Speaking up about workplace misconduct shouldn’t depend on where someone sits in the organisational chart. But as shown in The Culture Shifters Annual Report 26/27, it does. Junior employees are twice as likely as senior leaders to believe that speaking up is "pointless," with 54% holding this view compared to just 27% of senior leaders.
Why Collecting Misconduct Data Isn't Enough to Meet the New All Reasonable Steps Duty
Our co-founder and CEO, Gemma McCall, has written a piece for The HR Director exploring one of the most persistent gaps in workplace misconduct management: the space between collecting data and actually using it.
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The NDA Ban Under the Employment Rights Act: What It Means for HR
When you can no longer buy silence, you have to invest in safety. That's the shift HR teams now need to plan for. Some organisations have historically leaned on settlement agreements and non-disclosure agreements to resolve harassment complaints quietly, keeping the details contained and the reputational risk low. The Employment Rights Act 2025 closes that option down. Once the NDA ban comes into force, a culture of silence stops being something the law will let you enforce.
Feeling inspired?
Take the first step toward preventative misconduct management with a demo of our Report + Support™ platform. We can show you how to breakdown reporting barriers with anonymous 2-way messaging, and how to act before things escalate with name-matching and pattern-spotting across our analytics dashboard.
