It's All About People - 6th March 2025

READ TIME - 4 minute read

This Saturday is International Women’s Day, and I want to share something that really stuck with me this week, that involved incredibly inspiring women.

I watched the Netflix documentary Toxic Town—if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it. It follows a group of mums who fought tirelessly after their community was exposed to toxic chemicals that led to birth abnormalities in their children. Against all odds, they refused to be silenced and kept pushing for justice, and they got it.

And here’s the thing… that story? It happened right here in Corby, where our office is.

No spoilers here as I really hope you watch it, but needless to say, more than one person tried to blow the whistle at the time - but no one was listened to.

Whistleblowing: Why It Matters at Work

At its core, whistleblowing is speaking up about wrongdoing—whether it’s about illegal activity, health and safety risks, environmental damage, or unethical behaviour. In the UK, employees have legal protections when raising concerns, but too many still stay silent, fearing retaliation or job loss.

Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA), whistleblowers are protected if they report concerns in the public interest to the right channels—such as their employer, a regulatory body, or in some cases, the media. But here’s the catch: if an organisation doesn’t have clear, trusted processes, people may never come forward.

And that can lead to disaster.

When Whistleblowing Goes Wrong: Cases That Hit the Headlines

🚨 The NHS Mid Staffordshire Scandal – Hundreds of patients died due to neglect and poor care at Stafford Hospital. Whistleblowers raised concerns for years, but they were ignored or even punished for speaking up. The scandal led to major changes in NHS whistleblowing policies.

🚨 The Post Office Horizon Scandal – Sub-postmasters were wrongly accused of fraud due to faulty accounting software. Many faced financial ruin, criminal convictions, or even jail. It took years of campaigning and legal battles before the truth came out, highlighting the devastating impact of ignored whistleblowers.

🚨 Cambridge Analytica & Facebook – A whistleblower exposed how millions of users' data was harvested without consent for political advertising. His revelations shook the tech world and led to tighter Data Protection laws.

What Employers Must Do ✅

If you want to avoid a scandal (or even just build a workplace where employees feel safe), you need to:

✔️ Have a clear whistleblowing policy – Make it easy for employees to report concerns internally.
✔️ Provide multiple reporting channels – A mix of confidential internal routes, anonymous reporting options, and external helplines ensures employees feel safe.
✔️ Train managers – They need to understand how to handle concerns properly (and avoid brushing them under the rug).
✔️ Create a culture of trust – If employees fear retaliation, they won’t speak up—and that’s when problems spiral.
✔️ Encourage openness – The best workplaces make employees feel like they can raise concerns before they turn into a crisis.

Because being heard matters—whether in a workplace or a courtroom.

Ask the HR Consultant: Got a burning question? 🔥

Email me and I’ll answer it in a future edition!

Until next time….

Emma

P.S. If you're a member of our HR Hub, there is a Whistleblowing Policy and register in there for you to use.

P.P.S.  If you are not a Hub member why not give it for FREE for a month. You can do that here.

Events to Join in the coming weeks (click on the links to join us)

^{Lunch & Learn: Manage Redundancy with Compassion and Support - free to all clients, £35+VAT for non-clients). 18th March 12-1pm}

^{HR Clinic - FREE to all. 10th April 12-1pm}

^{Lunch & Learn: Understanding and Enforcing Restrictive Covenants Support - free to all clients, £35+VAT for non-clients). 26th April 12-1pm}

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