Half of UK employees (51%) would not feel safe disclosing if their company was breaking the law, research by Bloomsbury Square Employment Law has found.

Of those who would not make a whistleblowing disclosure, 45% cited fear of losing their job as the reason; 39% cited fear of retaliation or bullying; and 36% cited fear of their confidentiality being broken.

“HR should ensure that the company whistleblowing policy is clear that any employee making whistleblowing disclosures will be protected against retaliation and dismissal,” said Will Burrows, employment law partner at Bloomsbury Square Employment Law, speaking to HR magazine.

“Measures should be discussed with the employee to ensure this.”

Read more: Whistleblowing tribunals rise: What can HR do?

Burrows also encouraged HR to provide employees with training alongside the whistleblowing policy.

He continued: “The best way of communicating a whistleblowing policy is to combine it with training on whistleblowing: what form it takes, why it’s important and what rights and protections employees have.

“If every employee has training and is given the policy, then every employee will be aware of what they need to know. The most important thing for HR is that employees follow the whistleblowing policy, as most problems arise when qualifying disclosures are made outside the normal channels.

“These are not recognised by HR and therefore the employee is then subject to retaliation.”

Bloomsbury Square Employment Law's survey of...

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