Proposals put forward on whistle-blowing

Whistleblowing charity Public Concern at Work has published the results of a review by the Whistleblowing Commission, an expert panel it set up in February 2013 to examine how well current whistleblowing laws are working and what can be done to make things better.

The report’s verdict on the main whistleblowing legislation — the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 — is that it is “complex”, “very difficult to understand” and “not working as intended”. This was a view shared by the “vast majority” of respondents to the consultation.

The Commission makes a number of strong recommendations for reform, including the introduction of a statutory Code of Practice on whistleblowing; simplifying and extending the scope of the Act; expanding the categories of worker covered by the Act to include, among others, volunteers, interns and job applicants; simplifying the ban on gagging clauses used to prevent workers speaking out; and protecting disclosures made in the course of obtaining advice from a trade union rep.

Welcoming the report, TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Whistleblowing is an important way to root out malpractice and wrongdoing in a workplace.

“It’s important that we have stronger legal protections and written workplace procedures for whistleblowers to underpin the important work that union reps do in supporting workers who speak out.”

www.pcaw.org.uk/whistleblowing-commission-public-consultation