Maria Miller MP continues to push for NDA reform

This week Maria Miller MP asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Paul Scully to set out the Governments’ plans for tackling the misuse of NDAs.

The Minister, committed that the government would ensure that citizens signing NDAs would remain able to make protected disclosures to the Police, regulators and all prescribed persons including health and legal professionals. Mr Scully also commended Mrs Miller’s campaign and the work of campaigners including Can’t Buy My Silence led by Zelda Perkins to tackle this issue.

On legislative change Mr Scully stressed the need for parliamentary time however reassured the commons that the government will crack down on the usage of NDAs. 

WhistleblowersUK continues to collaborate with this campaign, our CEO Georgina Halford-Hall said, “the commitment by the Government is a step in the right direction to ensure that no one is silenced and that the Public Interest is protected. We join Maria Miller in continuing to press for a full ban on the use of all NDAs”. 

Mary Robinson MP, Chair of the APPG for Whistleblowing said, “I am encouraged by the Minister's comments and will be seeking a further meeting with him to discuss the details of proposals to end the abuse of NDAs by unscrupulous employers and improve the treatment of whistleblowers and the information that they bring forward”.

HSJ report figures reveal the proliferation of NDAs within the National Health Service

It is no secret that the NHS continues to use NDA’s as a means of silencing whistleblowers who alert the public to medical and cultural risks that could harm them. In the report published today in HSJ magazine we can see the tip of the cover up iceberg. Read more about it here.

Since the late 1990’s successive health ministers have condemned the use of settlement agreements, but the figures uncovered by HSJ expose the conservative estimate of circa £30m of taxpayer cash used to shut up whistleblowers and cover up wrongdoing between 2015 and 2021.

This figure is likely to be a fraction of the true figure given the few Trusts who complied with the FOI. 

Georgina Halford-Hall, CEO of WhistleblowersUK says, “We have seen no reduction in the use of settlement agreements or the chilling impact on those who sign them despite the protections afforded whistleblowers in the Public Interest disclosure Act which must be condemned to history. 

We have been leading the campaign for the Office of the Whistleblower that will ban the use of NDAs and will be calling on Health secretary Sajid Javid to take swift and decisive action to end this practice now.”

Mary Robinson MP Chair of the APPG for Whistleblowing says, “Figures released today exposing NHS Trusts who have spent up to £1m gagging whistleblowers makes eye watering reading. Covid has demonstrated the importance of our NHS and the need to encourage and support those who speak out in the prevention of future pandemics.

I have fully supported Maria Millar’s bill to ban NDA’s and continue to press forward proposals set out by Baroness Kramer and the APPG for Whistleblowing that I chair for the introduction of the Office of the Whistleblower. 

This office will enforce the existing laws that ban the use of NDAs to silence whistleblowers and introduce measures that hold to account those who break the rules.”

Mary Robinson MP calls on the Prime Minister to consider reforming the law on whistleblowing

The Chair for the APPG on Whistleblowing, Mary Robinson MP, called on the Prime Minister today to ask Greater Manchester Police to urgently review its internal culture and for reforms to be made to the law on whistleblowing.

In Mary’s question to the Prime Minister during PMQs, the failings of Greater Manchester Police, which led to the force being paced in special measures and the resignation of its Chief Constable, were used to illustrate what the Manchester Evening News recently described as "a culture of denial and secrecy” in the force.

Asking the Prime Minister to support her calls for the internal culture of Greater Manchester Police to be urgently reviewed, Mary reminded her fellow MPs that, “after the horrific murder of Sarah Everard, it is crucial that we tackle the cover-up culture.”

Speaking after PMQs, Mary said, “I am delighted that the Prime Minister supports and agreed with what I said in the House today about whistleblowing and about the failings of Greater Manchester Police. An independent review of the internal culture of Greater Manchester Police will bring to the fore the extent of the problems in the force so that we can understand how to rebuild trust and confidence in GMP that is so severely lacking at the moment. Any organisation that is described as having a culture of denial, obfuscation and secrecy needs a root and branch review of its culture, systems and processes and I sincerely hope that Stephen Watson, the new Chief Constable, will appoint somebody independent with the experience to initiate such a review and make urgent recommendations for improvement. This is what local residents deserve and what local representatives expect of such an important part of our public services.

I am also pleased that the Prime Minister acknowledged the vital importance of people, wherever they are, having the confidence to speak up against wrongdoing. At the moment our current legislation only provides an umbrella for whistleblowers who are classified as workers, and I want to change that. All people, whether they are employees of a police force or any organisation but crucially if they are a member of the public, who uncover wrongdoing and blow the whistle should have protection in law. That is why colleagues on the APPG for Whistleblowing and I are working to bring forward new legislation that will support all people who bravely speak up when they find failings in the work place or anywhere else so that we can provide proper processes for people to be able to speak up against crime, corruption and cover-up with confidence.”

New legislation aiming to tackle mis-use of NDAs

On Tuesday 14th September, in parliament, Maria Miller MP, called for the government to introduce a Bill to ban the mis-use of NDAs. She said 'We have some of the best laws and regulations in the world to protect people from bullying, discrimination and abuse in the workplace, yet we allow scurrilous employers to conceal unlawful wrongdoing through the use of non-disclosure agreements, effectively rendering legal protections that we have voted for in this Chamber null and void.'

She explained "At the moment, non-disclosure agreements are completely unregulated. They can be, and are being, used to attempt to cover up even criminal allegations; they can even include unenforceable conditions to scare employees away from seeking support or redress from the criminal justice system or the employment tribunal system. My Bill would change that by restricting the use of non-disclosure agreements and ensuring that employees could always enjoy the protection of the law as intended."

Referencing the MeToo campaign which highlighted this issue she said "Since the #MeToo campaign started in 2017 and the Women and Equalities Committee published its report in 2019, the scale of the problem has been very difficult for the Government to get their hands around. No statistics are published, because people who have agreed to an NDA may feel that they cannot tell a third party that they have undertaken such an agreement. That is why I support Can’t Buy My Silence, the new campaign launched today by Zelda Perkins, which will enable people who have had bad experiences of NDAs to talk publicly about them for the first time, anonymously."

The House agreed the Bill should be presented and it was read for the first time, and will be read for a second time on Friday 18th March 2022.

If you would like to support Zelda Perkins' 'Can't Buy My Silence' campaign - please do so here - https://actionstorm.org/petitions/cant-buy-my-silence

Comments on our new Report

Legal Futures, an influential legal intelligence website, has commented on our new Report. To read their article go to www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/whistleblowers-lawyers-fear-retaliation-over-ndas

Making Whistleblowing Work for Society - a new report

The APPG for Whistleblowing commissioned The University of Greenwich to review the outcomes of Employment Tribunals involving whistleblowing claims between 2015 and 2018. Their findings support the urgent establishment of the Office of the Whistleblower, as a centre of expertise, mandated to make interventions that increase access to justice.

To read the report please visit www.appgwhistleblowing.co.uk/news

Welcoming our new Chair

We are delighted to announce that, following Tom Lloyd’s retirement, Tessa Munt has agreed to take up the role of Chair of WhistleblowersUK with immediate effect. We look forward to long and productive future with Tessa at the helm.

Tom Lloyd announces his retirement as our Chairman

Tom Lloyd has retired as Chairman and Director of WhistleblowersUK having led the organisation for nearly 5 years. The international recognition we have gained during this time is thanks to his leadership and vision. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude for all that he has done and we are delighted that, in recognition, Tom has agreed to accept the role of Honorary President.

Announcing his retirement, Tom said “I am immensely proud of what WhistleblowersUK has achieved over the years. We have taken on some very difficult whistleblowing cases and supported many whistleblowers in that time. Georgina Halford-Hall is an exceptionally expert and dedicated person, working tirelessly for the benefit of others. Her reward is the grateful thanks of the many individual whistleblowers she has helped and the knowledge of making a huge difference to the future benefit of all whistleblowers".

"I am particularly proud that, as a young organisation with very few resources, we have made a real impact on government, becoming the Secretariat to the APPG on Whistleblowing and being instrumental in introducing a Bill in Parliament to create the Office of the Whistleblower. We have moved quickly and effectively with the tremendous support of many parliamentarians who are also working to end the misery inflicted on whistleblowers. This Office has the potential permanently to right so many wrongs that beset whistleblowers day in and day out".

"There comes a time when new thinking and new approaches are needed and I feel that while I have been able to contribute to the success of WhistleblowersUK in the past it is now time for others to continue that success into the future. As I step down I am delighted to welcome Tessa Munt as the new Chair of WhistleblowersUK. Her considerable experience as an MP and in Government will be invaluable.”

"We are fortunate and very grateful to have been supported by donations from individuals and organisations alike and would like to thank those responsible and encourage others to support our valuable work".

"Finally, may I recognise and thank Georgina Halford-Hall our CEO and all of her team for their support and hard work for whistleblowers and everybody else I have had the good fortune to meet who are also working for the benefit of all whistleblowers".

APPG Chair writes to Matt Hancock

Mary Robinson MP, Chair of the APPG for Whistleblowing, writes to Matt Hancock calling for the Office for the Whistleblower to be created.

Mary Robinson MP

Member of Parliament for Cheadle

Rt. Hon Matt Hancock

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Department of Health and Social Care

39 Victoria Street London SW1H 0EU 22nd May 2020

Dear Matt,

I am writing to you in my capacity as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Whistleblowing.

As you may be aware, the APPG for Whistleblowing has been examining evidence surrounding the issues facing whistle-blowers over the last two years and, more recently, throughout the coronavirus crisis. The APPG concludes that the crisis has exposed some terminal failings within the existing whistleblowing framework.

We have particular concerns regarding transparency and accountability including cases highlighting the avoidance of scrutiny by attempts to silence those raising concerns about Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

There has been a significant increase in the number of people speaking out from within NHS Trusts and Care Homes. In our survey last year over 50% of the respondents were from Health and Social Care, and since 3rd March over 90% of the enquiries received by WhistleblowersUK, our secretariat, are from this sector with over 80% from within NHS Trusts.

Despite Government messaging, which encourages staff to speak up, the evidence suggests that many Trusts have measures in place which unfortunately undermine these instructions. We have also heard from whistle-blowers who have spoken confidentially to the National Guardian, as well as relevant Trust and Regulator whistle-blower helplines, who report being subsequently targeted by their managers.

Further evidence of targeting whistle-blowers emerged in the form of requests for assistance received by WhistleblowersUK within hours of my interview on the BBCs Newsnight programme last week. These included reports of being reprimanded and/or threatened by managers or board members for raising issues on social media, issues with PPE and reports from Doctors that they are fearful of retaliation should they highlight concerns.

The APPG believes an urgent response is required to protect whistle-blowers, to ensure concerns are properly and independently investigated with the introduction of gold standard legislation, supporting and promoting ethical practices across all sectors.

The Bill for an Office of the Whistle-blower, currently progressing through the House of Lords, offers a solution that will put the Government back on the front foot as we emerge from this crisis.

The UK was the first EU country to introduce legislation to protect whistle-blowers in 1998. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) was a Private Members Bill introduced by Conservative MP Sir Richard Shepherd and addressed the issues which were relevant for that time. However, this legislation no longer enjoys the same public confidence for two key reasons:

1. The legislation does not include any mechanism to address allegations of wrongdoing.

2. Of the small number of cases that progress to an employment tribunal less than 4% bring successful claims for detriment.

We have been convinced by the evidence supplied by whistle-blowers, leading academics and legislation in other nations, that effective legislation cannot be bound by the employment contract between employer and employee as it fails to address the substantive issue.

The Office of the Whistle-blower will get straight to the heart of the matter, exposing clusters and patterns and directing relevant regulators to take action. It will be the most appropriate vehicle to review PIDA and propose 21st Century legislation.

Our proposal seeks to address the Whistleblowing while protecting the Whistleblower. In doing so introducing accountability and transparency into the process from the outset and prioritising public safety and security.

I look forward your response and would like to arrange a meeting in order that we can discuss whistleblowing and the issues I have outlined further.

Yours sincerely,

Mary Robinson MP

Member of Parliament for Cheadle, Chair of the APPG for Whistleblowing

Constituency Office: 8a Station Road, Cheadle Hulme, SK8 5AE

Tel No: 0161 672 6855

Email: mary.robinson@parliament.uk

Website: www.mary-robinson.org.uk

CEO Georgina Halford-Hall interviewed on Newsnight

Our CEO was interviewed on Newsnight on the 14th May 2020 (25.55 minutes in) about the problem of NHS staff being threatened for speaking up about problems dealing with Covid-19. Other contributors include Mary Robinson MP, Chair of the APPG on Whistleblowing and Dr Jenny Vaughan of the Doctors’ Association UK.

Businesses cheating by forcing employees on Furlough to work

Our CEO Georgina Halford-Hall comments in The Sun on potentially criminal behaviour by some businesses.

“WhistleblowersUK, a firm which can refer whistleblowers to legal and professional services, told The Sun that up to 20 percent of its current contact from consumers relates to furlough fraud across industries including manufacturing, care homes, and motoring.

Its chief executive, Georgina Halford-Hall, said: "Sadly the furlough scheme is easy to exploit and it doesn't help given the government's confusing messages about who should and shouldn't return to work.

"We're seeing a steady stream of enquiries about furlough fraud as it's putting people, particularly those on a low income, into an ethical dilemma.

"The vast majority of the public don't want to be involved with fraud."“

Momentum behind "Office for the Whistleblower" increases. Our CEO interviewed by Forbes

Forbes interviewed Baroness Kramer (of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Whistleblowing) and Georgina Halford-Hall about the need for the Office for the Whistleblower properly to support whistleblowers.

“Baroness Kramer, co-chair of the APPG for Whistleblowing tells Forbes that legislation is in the works to create The Office of the Whistleblower, and the early stage proposals have broad support across the political spectrum.”

“Baroness Kramer tells Forbes that despite the U.K.’s 1998 legislation, “we really haven't managed to clamp down on retaliation against whistleblowers.” Adding, “So often a whistleblower ends up in an employment tribunal, which was never the issue. The issue was never–were they [a] good or bad employee?” But rather, “Has the issue they've been talking about actually been investigated?””

“Georgina Halford-Hall, CEO of Whistleblowers U.K., says that legislation is needed to clarify that whistleblowing should be viewed positively, like “compliance.” Rather than negatively, like a form of corporate treachery that eventually unravels in costly, exhausting and embarrassing legal battles.”

CEO Georgina-Halford Hall comments on doctors being "gagged" on NHS PPE shortages.

Whistleblowers UK chief executive Georgina Halford-Hall told the Morning Star yesterday that it had spoken to a senior clinician who was considering resigning over fears of retaliation for speaking out.

The unnamed worker also feared that the “inconsistent and unclear advice” being given by their NHS trust was endangering staff, patients and the wider population, she said.

Although Ms Halford-Hall noted that it was “not unusual” to hear such concerns from medical staff, she said that to hear them from a very senior practitioner was.

Baroness Kramer introduces the Office of the Whistleblower Bill in the House of Lords 28th January 2020

Baroness Kramer introduces the Office of the Whistleblower Bill in the House of Lords 28th January 2020 for its first reading.

https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2019-20/officeofthewhistleblower.html

Whistleblowing Recommendations in the Report of the Independent Review into the Quality and Effectiveness of Audit - Sir Donald Brydon CBE London December 2019

Extract from the Report:

22. Whistleblowing

22.1 It seems strange that, whilst whistleblowing protections have been enshrined in law,185 these protections do not generally extend to whistleblowing to auditors. (185)

22.2 PID provides the statutory framework for whistleblowing by employees. It protects employees from dismissal or other detriment if they whistleblow based on a ‘reasonable belief’ that their company (or someone in it) has committed one of the following: (a) criminal offence (b) a breach of any legal obligation, (c) miscarriages of justice, (d) danger to the health and safety of any individual, (e) damage to the environment, or (f) the deliberate concealing of information about any of the above. It would be helpful to add a specific reference to deliberate misrepresentation of financial information.

22.3 PID encourages employees to raise concerns with their employer in the first instance. There is also a list of ‘Prescribed Persons’ (186) to whom employees can raise concerns directly; this includes the FRC. Employees may raise concerns directly with the FRC in relation to matters that are within the scope of the FRC’s statutory duties, including the monitoring of major and PIE audits.

22.4 Appropriately the FRC (and other Prescribed Persons) have discretion over whether to take action in response to any whistleblowing, but must, in any case, publish an annual report of the numbers of disclosures they have received and what, if any, action they have taken in response. The BEIS Select Committee (187) noted that of 25 whistleblowing cases received in the past 10 years, only three cases resulted in action. If accurate, these numbers appear worryingly small and suggest that this process is not widely understood or applied.

22.5 Audit firms or audit partners are not on the list of prescribed persons under PID. Employees may be protected if they raise concerns directly with the auditor but only “where the worker follows a procedure that has been authorised by his employer.” So, whistleblowing by employees directly to the auditor is constrained by whether the company chooses to put a formal mechanism in place to facilitate this.

22.6 This seems an unnecessary encumbrance and accordingly,

22.7 I recommend that the relevant Statutory Auditor for a particular audited PIE be added to the list of Prescribed Persons under the Public Interest Disclosure Act. 22.8 Not only employees may have information relevant to the audit and so,

22.9 I further recommend that the protections available to employees should be extended to others with a direct economic relationship with the entities being audited. These would encompass shareholders, suppliers, customers and any other creditors. Such individuals should also be afforded protection when whistleblowing to ARGA.

22.10 In order to protect against this process being abused, the protection of PID would not be available if the action was deemed to have been undertaken for the purpose of stimulating needless publicity for defamatory reasons.

22.11 I believe that whilst audit is legally defined to be used by a narrow section of society – shareholders – the application of PID to a wider population will emphasise the societal importance of the audit.

22.12 Criteria will need to be developed to guide the limits of whistleblowing to meet a materiality test. Clearly, for example, the communication of matters which may threaten the existence of the business, or relate to the behaviour of the audit committee as complicit in wrongdoing, would pass such a test.

22.13 Finally, ARGA may wish to consider how it publicises the rights of whistleblowers and, learning a lesson from the United States, whether it ought to operate a reward programme for specific instances of whistleblowing.

185 Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (“PID”)

186 “The Prescribed Persons Order 2014 sets out a list of over 60 organisations and individuals that a worker may approach outside their workplace to report suspected or known wrongdoing. The organisations and individuals on the list have usually been designated as prescribed persons because they have an authoritative or oversight relationship with their sector, often as a regulatory body.” Relevant disclosures to a Prescribed Person are generally protected under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. Prescribed Persons are required to produce an annual report on whistleblowing disclosures made to them by workers.

187 BEIS Select Committee ibid 90 Independent Review into the Quality and Effectiveness of Audit

Whistleblowers need independent office to protect them, say MPs

After the successful launch of the APPG Report on Monday newspapers reported the need for an independent Office for the Whistleblower to protect whistleblowers.
You can find the report on the APPG website:

The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jul/15/whistleblowers-need-independent-office-to-protect-them-say-mps

The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/whistleblower-protection-laws-non-disclosure-agreement-mps-a9005806.html

The BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48984491

FCA leaders must address "cultural problem" of poor treatment of whistleblowers, say UK lawmakers

FCA leaders must address "cultural problem" of poor treatment of whistleblowers, say UK lawmakers

Published 04-Jul-2019 by Rachel Wolcott, Regulatory Intelligence

The Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) poor treatment of whistleblowers is a culture problem that must be addressed by its leadership, UK lawmakers said on Wednesday. The FCA has a terrible reputation for dealing with whistleblowers, they said.

"We need to improve how we deal with whistleblowers and the legislation around them. We must also insist that regulators, which already have access to sanctions, deal with these issues robustly. There is a cultural problem in the FCA in dealing with this. That must be addressed, and it can only be dealt with by the leadership of the FCA," said Kevin Hollinrake MP (Con), during a backbench debate on whistle-blowing held yesterday.

"Culturally, the biggest issues in the regulator need fixing," he said. Several MPs raised specific concerns about the FCA's handling of whistleblowers' complaints. They highlighted instances where identities had been revealed inappropriately, complaints had been ignored and banks found to have mistreated whistleblowers were not sanctioned.

MPs emphasized concerns that the FCA and other regulators were sometimes no better in fulfilling their responsibilities to whistleblowers than banks and other organisations.

"In my experience, this not just about the organisations themselves but also about the regulator. The regulator could take a much firmer stance. Whistle-blowing is part of its processes. It has responsibilities under protected disclosure to deal with whistleblowers, but that is not what happens. It pays lip service to the issue of whistle-blowing.

It says, "Yes, okay, we're dealing with that," but the cases that I will highlight illustrate that that is not what has happened. The FCA has got a terrible reputation in this area," Hollinrake said. MPs suggested the FCA should listen to whistleblowers as part of their supervisory and enforcement activities and use that intelligence to stop problems before they grew into a financial crisis, for example.

"The FCA has a huge opportunity. It should regulate without fear or favour, but that is not where we are. It constantly looks over its shoulder at the banks and seeks to defend their reputation by concealing the truth, rather than robustly investigating these issues," Hollinrake said.

FCA seen as an ally to banks

Norman Lamb MP (Lib Dem), who secured the debate, spoke about his constituent Mark Wright, a Royal Bank of Scotland whistleblower. Wright's case showed the FCA was too close to the banks it regulates, he said.

"[W]e have a regulator that is too close to the banks; that failed to protect Mr Wright’s disclosure or his identity; that, crucially appeared to fail to take the allegations about the misconduct of that bank seriously," said Lamb, who also questioned the role Andrew Bailey, FCA chief executive, played in Wright's case.

Jim Fitzgerald MP (Lab) said there was concern that when the FCA got involved in whistle-blowing cases it was seen to be an ally of the financial services, rather than an independent regulator, and the complaints processes were designed to stifle information that could lead to prosecution.

"Staff at the FCA have told WhistleblowersUK that the FCA has a responsibility to ensure that there is not a run on a bank that might impact the UK economy. That would not be a problem if whistleblower intelligence were acted on," Fitzgerald said.

Lack of action

MPs raised two cases they said illustrated the FCA's lack of action in whistle-blowing situations. In one instance MPs questioned why the FCA did not take enforcement action against Lloyds Banking Group executives for mistreating a whistleblower.

Hollinrake acknowledged Bailey met Lloyds whistleblower Sally Masterton and determined that she had been mistreated. Lloyds ultimately apologised and paid Masterton compensation. "[B]ut the FCA did not sanction anybody in Lloyds for that mistreatment. That is incredible. All the FCA keeps telling me is that there is another investigation going on […] but that is unacceptable. The FCA has already established the mistreatment, yet it will not move forward to sanction the people responsible.

Under the senior managers regime, these people, including the chief exec, could be sanctioned, fined or banned. That is exactly what should happen," Hollinrake said.

Fitzpatrick questioned why the FCA did not follow up on whistleblower-provided information related to another Lloyds customer, his constituent, Julia Davey. Davey ran two interior decorating businesses she alleges Lloyds bankrupted. Fitzpatrick said the FCA had failed to act on information from a whistleblower at Baronsmead, a turnaround company employed by Lloyds. "I would also like to know why the FCA is not investigating the case as a genuine whistleblower complaint, eight months after receiving the information.

The whistleblower has provided extensive evidence of the wrongdoing involved, but my constituent feels that the FCA has blocked her questions about an investigation and allowed the bank's cover-up to continue," Fitzpatrick said.

Produced by Thomson Reuters Accelus Regulatory Intelligence 04-Jul-2019

Our CEO Georgina Halford-Hall comments on the lack of FCA resources devoted to supporting whistleblowers

Concerns about fitness and propriety, systems and controls, compliance and culture accounted for the highest number of whistle-blowing reports to the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2018. Collectively they amounted to 38.5 percent of all such reports received by the regulator, according to the response to a request under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2000.

The FoI response also revealed that the FCA increased the size of its whistle-blowing team by 71 percent last year. Despite the rise in headcount, however, a UK charity dedicated to helping whistleblowers has stopped referring cases about one bank to the FCA until it has dealt with the backlog of previous reports regarding that institution.

Georgina Halford-Hall, chief executive of WhistleblowersUK, said the charity (word used by the journalist quoted; WBUK is not a charity) had put a temporary hold on referring whistleblowers from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) to the FCA.

"We continue to support John Banerjee [a former RBC employee who lost his job after he blew the whistle on compliance failings at the bank] in demanding answers now. It is inconceivable that the FCA have still not reached a conclusion on this matter a year after winning his [employment tribunal], which exposed that [senior managers regime] rules had been broken. The FCA have more than enough information to conclude their investigation and have done for a very long time.

"Having been told that each new [whistle-blowing case] delays the decision I have informed the FCA that WhistleblowersUK will not be referring new RBC [whistleblowers] until they release the report.

"I am concerned about the ongoing impact of the delay on other whistleblowers and potential whistleblowers at all banks," Halford-Hall said.

RBC declined to comment.

The FCA said it could not comment on whether it was or was not investigating a specific firm but denied investigations were halted when it received new allegations from whistleblowers.

“Clearly multiple whistle-blowing reports dealing with related matters may cause investigations to become wider or broader. But there is no substance to statements about related whiste-blowing reports concerning the same firm causing investigations to ‘restart’.

“Seeking to stop or prevent a whistleblower reporting misconduct directly to the FCA may be criminal offence," an FCA spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

Overall, the regulator received 1,755 reports from whistleblowers in 2018.

Categorisation confusion

The way the FCA has chosen to categorise the reports makes it hard to match them to numbers given by senior FCA staff. For instance, in December 2018 Christopher Woolard, executive director of strategy and competition at the FCA, said the regulator had received a "noticeable upturn in reports which concern discrimination and sexual harassment". Woolard said the regulator had received 64 reports on non-financial misconduct last year.

According to the response to the FoI submitted by Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence (TRRI), however, the FCA received just five reports relating to sexual harassment in 2018 and the regulator does not have a category for discrimination or other non-financial misconduct. The catch-all "FSMA" (Financial Services and Markets Act 2000<http://www.complinet.com/global-rulebooks/display/rulebook.html?rbid=1072>) category received 72 reports in 2018.

The FCA received the most reports under its fitness and propriety category: 301 during 2018. Next was treating customers fairly with 246; systems and controls with 146; culture and organisation at 136; consumer detriment at 114; fraud with 109; and compliance with 107.

There were 19 reports about whistle-blowing, 14 of them landing in the third quarter of 2018.

Financial crime was broken down across nine categories: anti-money laundering (AML) had 35 reports; bribery and corruption nine; crime 14; fraud 109; insider dealing 18; market manipulation 41; money laundering concerns 28; Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) AML just one; and terrorist finance, six.

Headcount

The FoI response revealed there were 12 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff dealing with the initial sift of whistle-blowing reports in March 2019, up from seven in 2018 and a considerable increase on the 2.5 FTE when the FCA launched in 2013.

In responding to the FoI request, the FCA stressed that the 12 staff members were just a fraction of the resource the regulator had allocated to whistle-blowing under Jane Attwood, head of the FCA's intelligence department.

"The specialist whistle-blowing team [is] dedicated to the receipt, initial assessment and dissemination within the FCA of whistle-blowing disclosures. Naturally, this team is not responsible for any supervisory inquiries or enforcement investigations that may arise from the whistle-blowing intelligence that is received by the team. Work arising from whistle-blowing is undertaken by a significant number of additional staff across the FCA, depending on the nature and subject matter of the intelligence," the FCA said in the FoI response.

The FCA's total headcount at July 2018 was 3,739; the whistle-blowing team therefore represents 0.32 percent of its workforce.

"The FCA has almost 4,000 staff and can deploy only 12 to the whistle-blowing team; it signals that whistle-blowing is a low priority.

"The FCA exists to protect the public interest but appears to expend more resource on its roadshows than whistleblowers, who are the principal source of intelligence for the FCA.

"Not only is the whistle-blowing team too small but it also requires significant upskilling to deal more effectively with whistleblowers," Halford-Hall said.

Royal Bank of Canada withdraws appeal in the John Banerjee whistleblowing case.

RBC has withdrawn their appeal against the success of John Banerjee in winning his case for wrongful dismissal. WhistleblowersUK are very happy to have supported John during his fight and are very pleased that the matter is now settled in his favour.

More than 60 Royal Bank of Canada staff raise concerns about culture

More than 60 current and former employees at Royal Bank of Canada have spoken up over concerns about culture and compliance at the banking group in the past two years.
People familiar with the matter told Financial News that concerned staff had either made contact with whistleblowing advocacy groups or the UK’s market regulator.

Our CEO Georgina Halford-Hall who has been advising the FCA on how it treats whistleblowers, said: “We need a system where people know they can find a universal process where whistleblowers are listened to, protected and supported.”

The new number shows the scale of the problem for RBC, which, according to a January 11 report in the Financial Times, is being investigated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority over working culture at its London investment bank: RBC Capital Markets.
The FCA launched its probe after a former RBC trader, who claimed to have been fired after raising compliance issues, won a case of unfair dismissal in the summer of 2017.

Since the former trader’s dismissal in 2016, more than 60 people across RBC’s global business have come forward with culture and compliance concerns, people familiar with the matter said.
RBC Capital Markets declined to comment on the numbers but said in a statement on January 11: “We actively promote a culture of compliance and giving employees opportunities to speak up and raise concerns without fear of retaliation.”

The FCA has not commented on the investigation.
The regulator itself is under fire for the way it handles incidents of whistleblowing. In September, FCA bosses were forced to defend the treatment of those who seek to raise concerns at banks and fund managers in the City of London.

Mary Inman, head of the international whistleblowing practice at Constantine Cannon, the law firm, said: “This RBC investigation feels like a #MeToo moment for whistleblowers. After one person stepped up, there has been a domino effect that has emboldened whistleblowers to come forward.”