United Kingdom: Whistleblowing

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduces sweeping changes to corporate criminal liability in the UK, making organizations accountable for any criminal offense committed by senior managers acting within their authority. This expansion from limited economic crimes to all UK criminal offenses requires businesses to reassess their risk management strategies and implement robust oversight measures for senior leadership.

This post analyses a speech by the Interim Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) at the Global Anti-Corruption, Ethics and Compliance Conference on 3 June 2026, and highlights the key implications for corporates.

As private credit owners navigate troubled borrower situations, they often face the challenge of replacing underperforming senior management teams. With the UK abolishing the unfair dismissal compensation cap and reducing the qualifying period from two years to six months starting January 2027, the landscape for managing executive exits is set to transform dramatically, making current strategies for performance management and negotiated departures significantly more complex and costly.

The health of workplace culture is often measured by how employees choose to raise concerns and whether they trust their organization enough to do so.

This case concerned the scope of a COT3 agreement and whether it prevented an employee from bringing a future whistleblowing detriment claim.

Internal investigations sit at the center of modern whistleblowing and compliance programs.

As the law currently stands, yes, you can, although this issue has been under scrutiny in the Court of Appeal in the joined cases of Barton Turns Developments Ltd v Treadwell and Rice v Wicked Vision Ltd...

External HR professionals are often retained by employers to investigate workplace matters, such as staff grievance and disciplinary issues.

The UK Government plans to introduce a number of significant changes to employment law under the Employment Rights Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament.