Calls to the whistleblowing charity Protect rose by almost a quarter in 2023, with two-fifths of callers claiming their concern had been ignored by their employer.
The charity worked on 3,407 total cases, with 23% coming from the charity sector, 24% from the general public and 42% from the private sector.
Reflecting well-publicised pressures on their jobs, most calls came from health and social work (30%), education (15%) and financial services (7%). Calls from health and social workers increased by 48% between 2022 and 2023.
The charity also revealed that most calls came from people with an annual income of below £30,000 (44%), while almost a quarter came from those earning between £30,000 and £50,000.
Two in five said their concerns had been ignored by their employer, and 21% said their concern was under investigation. The charity can provide online templates to support legal claims and advisers are legally trained and supervised by a qualified solicitor.
Whistleblowing
There have been calls in the NHS and other professions to strengthen support for those who report issues such as bullying, harassment or safety concerns.
Earlier this week, a review of workplace culture in ambulance services in England revealed that many concerns raised by staff were ignored or shelved to deal with operational issues.
Elizabeth Gardiner, Protect’s chief executive, said high profile whistleblowing examples such as the Lucy Letby case in the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Post Office IT scandal had been a driver in the increase in calls to its advice line.
“There’s often an assumption that whistleblowers are highly paid execs working senior roles in big firms,” she said. “But what we find is that nearly half of callers to our advice line earn less than £30,000.”
“These are often workers within hospital wards and small charities concerned about patient safety and the abuse of vulnerable people.
“We should be pleased that so many people are coming forward and speaking up in their workplace to stop harm. Whistleblowers are a valuable resource to employers and protect the public interest by holding organisations and governments to account.”
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