00:00One major case of whistleblowing in the UK includes that of the Post Office Horizon scandal.
00:06Research from Bloomsbury Square Employment Law found that less than one in five of workers
00:12they surveyed had confidence that they would be able to stay in their current job if they
00:17did blow the whistle. Will Burrows, a partner at Bloomsbury Square Employment Law, said despite
00:23recent scandals such as the post office that could have been prevented had employees blown the whistle,
00:29unless there is a greater protection for whistleblowers it is likely that people will
00:35avoid speaking up and potential wrongdoing will continue to go unchecked in the UK.
00:40This will lead to further scandals and crises of confidence. He went on to say any desire to do the
00:46right thing is being cancelled out by the current lack of protection and a genuine fear of retaliation.
00:53The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, also known as PEDA, is the law which protects
01:00whistleblowers from negative treatment or dismissal for raising workplace concerns.
01:06One specific whistleblower has come to know the negatives of whistleblowing all too well.
01:11Mrs Louise Chase, a former director, raised a claim against her former employer after spotting
01:18wrongdoing in the workplace. She's recently seen her own case appealed and delayed. She spoke to us
01:25about her experience with the judicial system. An actor has been used to read out Miss Chase's quote.
01:31I did not feel I had a choice when I raised concerns at my workplace. As the concerns appear to affect
01:36some of the most vulnerable people in society and involved taxpayers' money, I felt I had to do
01:41something. However, I seriously underestimated the consequences. It's been over five years since
01:47I first raised those concerns, and it still affects every part of my life.
01:53The reality is there is little protection for employees raising concerns if an employer decides
01:58to retaliate. After resigning in 2021, I found my only real option was to make a claim against my former
02:04employer at the employment tribunal. It's been a long and extremely stressful process to go through
02:10alone against an employer with an entire legal team on their side. A process I'm now having to
02:15repeat after a senior judge found I had been deprived of a fair trial the first time. It would
02:19therefore be difficult for me to encourage anyone else to raise concerns given my own experience,
02:24but if I could go back, I would still raise those concerns because it was the right thing to do.
02:28I would just do it differently.
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