Unite national officer for health Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe said: “At this time of national emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it is right that the legal protections covering whistleblowers in the NHS are highlighted.

“Unite, which has 100,000 members in the health service, will be monitoring the situation very closely in the weeks ahead and will give maximum support to any member who may face disciplinary procedures as a result of raising legitimate concerns, for example, the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).

“The current legislation protecting whistleblowers has been further underpinned by the NHS Staff Council statement of 28 February and the English Social Partnership Forum statement on 1 April.

“Any NHS worker that suspects they are being victimised for whistleblowing should contact their ‘freedom to speak up’ guardian which every trust in England should have in place. If they are a union member, they should contact their workplace representative or local union office.

“There have been anecdotal stories on social media that some NHS bosses may have been clamping down on those wishing to expose failings in the system and improve the well-being of patients. If we discover concrete evidence that this is happening, we will act immediately to support our members.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The NHS Staff Council statement of 28 February 2020

https://www.nhsemployers.org/-/media/Employers/Documents/Pay-and-reward/NHS-Staff-Council---Guidance-for-Covid-19-Feb-20.pdf?la=en&hash=70C909DA995280B9FAE4BF6AF291F4340890445C&hash=70C909DA995280B9FAE4BF6AF291F4340890445C

English Social Partnership Forum Joint Statement on Industrial relation - 1 April 2020

https://www.socialpartnershipforum.org/media/166314/SPF-Covid-19-statement-final-and-formatted.pdf

Protection for whistleblowers in the UK is provided under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA).The PIDA protects employees and workers who blow the whistle about wrongdoing.

For more information please contact Unite senior communications officer Shaun Noble on 020 3371 2060 or 07768 693940. Unite press office is on:  020 3371 2065

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @unitetheunion Facebook: unitetheunion1 Web: unitetheunion.org 

Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest union with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Len McCluskey.