Staff who raise whistleblowing concerns are protected by law

On World Whistleblowers’ Day, we want to spread the message that whistleblowers:

  • Are encouraged to voice their concerns
  • Should be listened to
  • Are protected by law

We recommend that all organisations have an up-to-date whistleblowing policy and independent reporting line.

What is whistleblowing?

Employees are protected by the the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, when raising a concern that counts as whistleblowing. This includes suspicions of:

  • Criminal offences
  • Failure to comply with a legal obligation
  • Health or safety breaches / danger
  • Miscarriages of justice
  • Environmental damage
  • Failure to report or deliberately concealing any of the above

Personal grievances and complaints are not covered by the legislation.

Read our article for World Whistleblowers’ Day to find out more about whistleblowing.

Are you looking to raise a whistleblowing concern?

Or would you just like to find out more about whistleblowing?

The next steps depend on whether or not you already receive whistleblowing support from Veritau. Our core council clients all receive this service from us (see below).

If you are a schools DPO client, please follow our guidance for schools and academies.

I work for a core Veritau client
I work for another organisation
Veritau’s core council clients:

Speak to an expert

Jonathan and Kelly both have first-hand experience in a wide range of sensitive whistleblowing issues. Speak to one of them confidentially on 0800 9179 247.

Jonathan Dodsworth - Assistant Director - Corporate Fraud

Jonathan Dodsworth

Assistant Director - Corporate Fraud

Jonathan is an Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist with a wealth of experience delivering counter fraud services to public sector organisations across the region. He was instrumental in establishing the North Yorkshire housing fraud partnership and is an active member of various public sector counter fraud networks.

Kelly Holmes - Senior Corporate Fraud Investigator

Kelly Holmes

Senior Corporate Fraud Investigator

Kelly holds both Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist status and a qualification in investigative practice from CIPFA. She has many years of experience as a fraud investigator and leads on complex internal and whistleblowing investigations. Kelly also has experience working in a busy HR team and is ACAS trained on conducting internal investigations.

Veritau's whistleblowing services

Case study

Whistleblowing investigation into conflict of interest and alleged timesheet fraud

A whistleblowing allegation was made at a local council, alleging that a member of staff was working on a self-employed basis during office hours and fabricating their timesheets.

Read this case study