Following a recent investigation by BBC Radio 5 Live, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has once again criticised the Government for the way whistle-blowers are treated.
The investigation found there were 17,571 settlement agreements signed by council workers over the past five years. According to the report, most included a strict clause preventing them from criticising their employer. It was found staff received a total of £226.7m from the settlements.
This is not the first time local government has come under fire for the use of gagging clauses in their settlement agreements. While gagging clauses are deemed legally void under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, it does not prevent council bosses from using them – sometimes to silence whistle-blowers.
Despite this, in our experience the use of gagging clauses in settlement agreements is unfortunately commonplace.
Similar criticism was levelled at central Government in February when the PAC condemned the Government for 'the lack of urgency' shown in dealing with improving whistleblowing arrangements. The PAC first reported on this over 18 months ago and found the Government was too focused on policy and process rather than on taking the lead to drive the much needed cultural change required to really improve matters.
Failing to take whistle-blowing seriously will trickle down and impact on workplace culture. From banking to healthcare and the media, we have seen the devastating impact that failing to inspire staff to speak up can have.
Working for local government often involves working with some of the most vulnerable people in our society. At Public Concern at Work, this year alone we have seen an increase of 20% in relation to our safeguarding calls. Local government is not immune to such scandals and recent headlines show they too can be in the news for all the wrong reasons.
There are fears that instead of really changing the status quo for whistle-blowers, the Government merely pays lip service to the issue.
Putting pen to paper is a good starting point, creating a positive environment where whistle-blowers feel confident to speak up requires much more than policies and procedures.
Engaging with staff about their experience of using whistle-blowing arrangements, taking action against those who victimise whistle-blowers and measuring the impact of policies through regular review demonstrate a proactive approach to whistle-blowing that will make the difference - building the trust necessary to change culture within our public services. To this end, our code of practice provides useful indicators to determine the effectiveness of whistle-blowing arrangements.
It's right the Government should also be monitoring those who provide public services and actively assessing relevant whistle-blowing arrangements. It is about time we see some real action by Government to make sure that we celebrate and champion whistle-blowers who protect the public interest.
Public Concern at Work, the whistle-blowing charity, aims to protect society by encouraging workplace whistle-blowing.
• We advise individuals with whistle-blowing dilemmas at work
• We support organisations with their whistle-blowing arrangements
• We inform public policy and seek legislative change
Cathy James OBE is chief executive of charity Public Concern at Work
