Testimonials

Whistleblowing is a formidable tool for our democratic society; it has the power of unravelling corruption in all societal sectors, protecting the public, and empowering those who feel their voices are not heard. It is imperative that whistleblowers are afforded the proper legal protection and mental health safeguards.

It is fundamental that whistleblowers are protected throughout the entire process; however, the current legal regime provides only a form of protection after the event, and there is little or no consideration of the effect that the process has on their mental health. With only 12% of whistleblowing claims being successful in the employment tribunal, it is clear that it is time for change.

WhistleblowersUK does tremendous work in campaigning to bring about such change, while providing much needed help to whistleblowers every step of the way, and it is for this reason that I have joined its legal panel. I hope that together, our voices can bring about the much needed change and protection to ensure a safer environment for whistleblowers, and in turn a more transparent society.

After 6 years of fighting the [ ] to no avail, until you kindly intervened with that email you sent to Acas. Today I can confirm that intervention has lead to me successfully having my Tribunal claim accepted, this is such a huge step forward and a relief to have the opportunity to be able I person to have my say. Many tears of joy 😊 both myself and [My Partner] are thrilled beyond belief.

I won my whistleblowing case at an Employment Tribunal in 2020 and returned to work shortly afterwards. Having been off with stress, due to the retaliation and the ET process, for over 2 years, it was incredibly difficult to go back to work for the same employer.

WBUK supported me throughout, by giving me advice and moral support. Talking to others who have had similar experiences was hugely helpful. I’ve now been back at work for over a year, meaning I have managed to keep working in my specialised field, which was important to me.

Knowing that I have WBUK’s support, even now, is something I remain continually grateful for.

WhistleblowersUK supported John Banerjee, a senior Emerging Markets FX trader, in his claim brought against his former employer, the Royal Bank of Canada.

The Tribunal found that Mr. Banerjee was dismissed as a result of raising a protected disclosure concerning a culture of box-ticking across the Bank in relation to compliance policies and other serious regulatory concerns. The Bank maintained that the dismissal was caused by Mr. Banerjee’s poor timekeeping. The Tribunal upheld Mr. Banerjee’s complaint of automatic unfair dismissal. Damages were awarded in excess of £1m.

This decision has been widely reported in the press, including in The Times and the front page of the Financial Times.

My time working for WhistleblowersUK was equal parts engaging and rewarding. During my internship, I was entrusted with a range of responsibilities including preparing briefings, writing for the website, and representing the organisation at talks and symposiums. The skills I learnt throughout were essential for my professional development, and I would like to thank Georgina for putting such trust in me at the beginning of my career. Above all, at WhistleblowersUK, I got to feel like I was doing meaningful work for a great cause!

“I am providing this testimonial to Whistleblowers UK (WBUK), because the team and their

CEO have provided real and critically important assistance and support to those that are

and have undergone aggressive and often bullying tactics from their employers or those

organisations that do not want a torchlight shone on their activities. Often is the case once

there is suspicion someone wants to report wrong doing or challenges their bosses or

colleagues or witnesses wrong doing as an external person to an organisation this triggers

events that often take a dark turn, whereby the person or organisation starts their attempt

at silencing the challenger, more often is the case the person who makes those challenges

is not even aware they have become a whistleblower. WBUK helped me with my situation

of working within the financial services industry and was tried to be silenced by my ex-

employer with the usual threats of getting me to sign an NDA with the view of receiving a

settlement and if not done so disciplinary action will take place and would lead to being

fired. Although this is not unusual as this often happens, it places the person on the

receiving end in a real dilemma of what to do, especially if real harm has been done or

crimes been committed. The law as it stands does not protect those making challenges or

what is known as protective disclosers as it often leads to dismissal, that relationship with

that organisation has become broken. What really happens is that the organisation will do

their best to discredit and threaten legal action with their solicitors which then puts the

challenger into a tail spin of potential high legal costs or threatens their livelihood and

future, which then leads to the organisation not being investigated. WBUK has been

campaigning to change this and needs support both in terms of contributions to their great

work, but also needs UK lawmakers, those elected members of parliament to enact their

Office of the Whistleblower Bill. This is needed and I can testify as one of the many people

who WBUK has helped and supported especially when I myself was in a very dark place.

PIDA as it stands has failed, the employment tribunal (ET) has failed. The statistics on

winning an employment tribunal for a whistleblowing claim is almost negligible, as so many

cases involve elements of wrong doing and criminal related activities. The evidence for

such cases is not heard or examined in an ET, as many of the cases WBUK gets involved

with are not employment issues per-se, but complex issues of serious wrong doing

whether that is child abuse, medical negligence and cover-up, financial crime or breaches

of health and safety. The law and those organisations that may oversee certain industry

sectors do not investigate allegations. I know, I have first had experience of this and the

total lack of feedback or engagement with the relevant authority. Even worse is the

situation many people just don’t know who to report incidents to or what they are legally

obliged to do with the information once provided. The Bill being proposed changes all this.

This in my case would of allowed me to see what was taking place with my information

disclosures instead of the authorities burying into the sand and forgetting about it. What is

very important as part of this testimonial, is that I wanted to see a transparent process of

what is being done, but the reality is the authorities often are the negligent party as they

themselves have allowed wrong doing to take place as they had not done their duty of

oversight. Their embarrassment or denial can’t be allowed to continue, let alone their own

cover-up. I know from my own experiences of working within the financial services industry

most wrong doing never gets reported. Organisations that profess to champion speaking

up, means you get shown the door or are ostracised. The real psychological affect has

been chilling for most people. I want the public, MP’s/members of the House of Lords, the

media to take note that WBUK has been a real force for good shining a light on this, but

wanting to bring change that will matter to all those that will in the future witness or

challenge wrong doing and will then suffer the consequences, only this Bill without it being

watered down will help solve this society ill. No society that regards itself as being open

and fighting corruption can ignore this. I know as a person who has had their life changed

from what I have experienced. Please support WBUK, lobby your MP and contribute to

WBUK for them to end this injustice. “