UK Financial Institutions: Whistling While They Work?

Financial service companies in the UK may soon face the prospect of remodelling their whistleblowing procedures and nominating whistleblowing champions.

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) currently protects employees from suffering a detriment, or being dismissed, as a result of blowing the whistle in certain circumstances. Employees may receive compensation if they bring a successful claim in the Employment Tribunal in respect of such treatment. However, there is not currently any legal or regulatory duty on employers to have whistleblowing arrangements in place. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)— the bodies charged with financial regulation in the UK—have published a joint consultation paper about formalising whistleblowing procedures in UK banks, building societies, credit unions with over £25 million of assets, PRA investment firms and insurers. This is anticipated to be approximately 1,500 firms in total.