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United Kingdom

UK Office of the Whistleblower Bill: independent investigations, uniform standards, criminal liability for detriment, NDAs void for protected disclosures, Upper Tribunal appeals

Published on: 14 February 2025

Published by a Law360 reporter
Legal News
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Article summary

The Bill’s principal aims, as signalled by its long title, are to create an independent Office of the Whistleblower (OWB) and to safeguard both whistleblowers and the practice of whistleblowing. The OWB would be empowered to set, oversee and enforce minimum standards for managing whistleblowing matters. This would encompass establishing protocols for handling protected disclosures, providing independent disclosure and advice services, undertaking whistleblowing investigations, and directing redress for any detriment suffered by whistleblowers. Should the OWB be established, it would represent a substantial shift for organisations in how whistleblowing is addressed, notably by offering individuals the option to report concerns to an independent third-party body with investigatory powers. To understand the Bill’s impetus, how we have reached this point, the case for changing perceptions of whistleblowing, and the treatment of whistleblowers and the response to their reports, it is useful first to examine the existing whistleblowing framework.

The current framework

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA 1998) grants protection to individuals who make specific disclosures of information in the public interest...

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