When an individual blows the whistle on suspected malpractice or wrongdoing in the workplace, this can lead to an internal investigation. A huge range of issues can be raised by whistle-blowers, and how the whistle-blower’s own rights are dealt with is a crucial consideration when scoping an investigation. Following on from World Whistle-blowers’ Day on 23 June, Emmanuelle Ries and Caroline Day provide a whistle stop tour of the key features of whistleblowing protection in the UK and in Europe.
The UK was a pioneer in implementing whistleblowing legislation 25 years ago (through the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 ("PIDA"), as incorporated into the Employment Rights Act 1996). When the EU was looking into drafting a Whistleblowing Directive, the UK was one of the countries which the EU Commission deemed to have comprehensive whistle-blower protection already in place.
The EU Whistleblowing Directive was adopted on 23 October 2019 and came into effect on 16 December 2019 (Directive (EU) 2019/1937). As the UK had left the EU before the Whistleblowing Directive’s implementation it does not need to implement it. However, the Directive remains relevant in the UK, particularly for financial services firms and organisations which operate across Europe, and may come to be regarded as best practice. It will also impact global companies with a UK presence which seek to establish a consistent approach to whistleblowing across their global organisation.
The European Commission, in...
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