The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the results of its qualitative survey of whistleblowers undertaken in early 2022. It has also published an action plan in the hopes of improving whistleblower confidence, which we discuss below.

Whistleblowing qualitative assessment survey 2022

The survey results indicate that respondents felt they did not receive comprehensive feedback from the FCA in response to concerns they had raised. The FCA noted that the confidentiality obligations to which they are bound under law limit its ability to provide such feedback. However, as a result of the survey, the FCA is looking at ways in which it can expand its feedback whilst continuing to abide by these obligations.

It is worth noting that the survey received only 21 fully completed responses. This is an especially small sample group given the number of complaints the FCA receives annually (1,041 whistleblower reports with 2,114 separate allegations between April 2021 and March 2022). That being said, employers should be mindful of the results:

• The most frequent reason that respondents gave for having reported concerns to the FCA was “I made an internal complaint which was ignored”, turning to the FCA as a “listener of last resort”.
• Whilst there was a high degree of dissatisfaction with the FCA’s process in dealing with these complaints, 52% of respondents noted that they were “definitely” or “most likely” to contact the FCA in the future regarding whistleblowing.

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