Regulation

Whistleblowing cases plunge in pandemic as workers ‘lack faith in the system’

The ‘significant’ drop in whistleblowing cases reflected a lack of trust among financial services workers

A businessman speaks on a mobile phone as he walks in the financial district of the City of London
A businessman speaks on a mobile phone as he walks in the financial district of the City of London Photo: Jason Alden/Getty Images

Whistleblowing-related employment tribunal claims from staff at UK-based banks have almost halved in 2020 compared to 2019, raising concerns that workers’ confidence in handling complaints has faltered and fears that the pandemic has stalled workers’ ability to report allegations.

Analysis by Financial News of publicly-available employment tribunal claims found that there were 15 whistleblowing-related employment tribunal claims from employees at banks in the UK in 2020, just under half the 27 such claims seen in the year before, and a 32% drop from 2018 figures.

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