The law on whistleblowing needs to change.

• Currently, only certain groups of people are ‘protected’, and the only way that this ‘protection’ works is by an individual bringing a claim in the Employment Tribunal (or accepting a settlement in exchange for walking away from their case).
• There is no official standard on whistleblowing for employers to meet, or recognised procedures for them to follow.  There is no duty to protect whistleblowers.
• Regulators are unaccountable for the way they treat whistleblowers. Whistleblowers cannot bring a claim against regulators – only against their employer.
• Whistleblowers don’t get legal aid and must pay for all their legal costs personally, with no prospect of recovering them.

Protect the whistleblowing charity, WhistleblowersUK, and other civil society groups don’t think this is good enough.

The current law, The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, set the international standard at the time, but this legislation no longer reflects the reality of the working world: numerous piecemeal changes have been developed through additional regulations and case law. This has resulted in confusion, and inconsistencies across sectors.

The government has agreed to review whistleblowing. In a parliamentary debate held in July 2019 many issues of statutory inadequacy were raised, and the BEIS Minister Kelly Tolhurst confirmed that a review will be considered.

Adding even more evidence, All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Whistleblowing issued a report to recognise the challenges currently faced by whistleblowers and the value whistleblowing bring society.

It's time for the UK to return to its place, leading global standards on whistleblowing.

Protect, WhistleblowersUK, and the public call on this government to deliver a whistleblowing law that offers real protection to whistleblowers, sets obligatory standards for employers and regulators to adhere to, and provides stronger enforcement when things go wrong. We support the APPG for Whistleblowing and others in calling for an urgent review of PIDA.

Add your name to the petition below to tell the government that whistleblowers deserve better.

For more information, please see Protect's #newlaw4whistleblowers campaign page here: https://protect-advice.org.uk/protect-to-campaign-for-a-new-whistleblowing-law/

For more information on WhistleblowersUK click here: https://www.wbuk.org/