We report on the Solicitors Regulation Authority's imminent
consultation on introducing a whistle-blowing policy to the SRA
Handbook for the first time.
Whistle-blowing is an aspect of employee relations growing in
prominence, with publicised incidents in the civil service, medical
profession and banking. In response to this trend, bodies like the
FSA, OFT and the European Commission have recently introduced
whistle-blowing policies, and the SRA are about to begin consulting
on a new code for solicitors. There are few details on the
proposals at this time, but we report here on their possible impact
on law firms and their insurers.
What are the SRA proposing?
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 provides that
whistle-blowing is the making by individuals of certain disclosures
of information in the public interest. Such material can include,
for example, information showing that a criminal offence has been
or will be committed. Under the Act, the whistle-blower
