Whistleblowing

The government has launched a consultation on reforming whistleblowing law in England, Wales and Scotland, open until 8 January 2027.

• Whether to provide more definition to the term 'public interest'
• It asks whether employers should be legally required to have whistleblowing policies and procedures and to follow up concerns, with a possible duty applying to private sector employers with 50 or more staff and all public sector employers. One model under consideration, used in Ireland, requires confidential reporting channels, set response times and feedback to the worker who raised the concern.
• It also proposes making it easier for workers to report concerns directly to regulators such as CQC, the Care Inspectorate and Care Inspectorate Wales, and creating a new protected route for raising concerns with trade unions.
• Other proposals would extend protection to more groups, such as job applicants, non-executive directors, trustees and some self-employed workers, and give dismissed whistleblowers longer to apply for interim relief at tribunal.
• A final section covers a Serious Fraud Office scheme to reward people who report economic crime, which has little direct bearing on homecare.

You can find the consultation here, please respond by 8 January 2026.