THE WHISTLEBLOWING FRAMEWORK - INEFFECTIVE
Commissioned by the Department for Business and Trade, Grant Thornton UK LLP’s July 2025 report evaluates the effectiveness of the whistleblowing framework in England, Scotland, and Wales. The framework, rooted in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA), aims to protect workers who disclose wrongdoing in the public interest, offering safeguards against detriment and dismissal and access to redress via Employment Tribunals.
The study assessed the framework against PIDA’s original objectives: enabling disclosures, protecting whistleblowers, facilitating redress, and fostering cultural change. It employed a mixed-method approach, including literature reviews, interviews with whistleblowers and stakeholders, focus groups, and analysis of tribunal data and prescribed persons’ reports (e.g. disclosures to a regulator).
“…whistleblower protection is only going to be strengthened over the coming years, which will undoubtedly encourage more employees to blow the whistle.”
Key findings reveal that, while the framework provides a legal route for disclosures, practical barriers persist. Many whistleblowers face retaliation, lack clarity on disclosure routes, and experience inconsistent responses from employers and prescribed persons. Tribunal processes were often perceived as complex and inaccessible, with limited success in securing redress. Cultural resistance within organisations and insufficient awareness of whistleblowing protections were found to further hinder effectiveness.
The report does not offer definitive conclusions but highlights recurring concerns and suggestions for reform. These include:
- clearer guidance on disclosure routes;
- improved employer training;
- enhanced support for whistleblowers; and
- greater transparency in prescribed persons’ reporting.
Notably, the study found limited evidence of successful whistleblowing outcomes, suggesting either ineffectiveness or underreporting of resolved cases.
The findings underscore the need for a more robust, accessible, and supportive whistleblowing environment to ensure that disclosures lead to meaningful accountability and protection. The direction of traffic seems to be that more, not less, protection should be afforded to whistleblowers.
As avid readers of HR Matters will know, the government’s Employment Rights Bill roadmap indicates that amendments to the current whistleblower legislation will be made by April 2026. It is doubtful that we will see wholesale changes of the type recommended by the Grant Thornton review. However, it is reported that concerns about sexual harassment in the workplace will be expressly included as a category of ‘relevant failure’ which will be capable of amounting to a protected disclosure.
Recommended action
One thing seems clear: whistleblower protection is only going to be strengthened over the coming years, which will undoubtedly encourage more employees to blow the whistle. Having a robust policy in place which provides a route for disclosures to be made, reinforced by training for senior managers on how to respond to such concerns and ensure that the whistleblower is suitably protected, is the best way to help foster cultural change whilst simultaneously managing the risk of tribunal claims. Employers must ensure that they keep the policies, procedures and training under review to ensure that they are up to date with the forthcoming changes. Please do let us know if you need our support with this.
