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Whistleblowing eLearning
Online whistleblowing training: what a protected disclosure actually is, the protection the law gives, and why most organisations would rather hear it internally first.
Who it is for
Who this whistleblowing course is for
Whistleblowing is narrower than people assume. Not every complaint is a protected disclosure, and understanding the difference protects both the person raising the concern and the organisation receiving it.
- All staff, as part of induction or refresher training
- Line managers who may receive a disclosure
- HR and compliance teams
- Directors and senior managers
- Regulated businesses with reporting obligations
- Anyone responsible for a speak-up policy
Course content
What the whistleblowing course covers
Eight short modules covering what qualifies, who is protected, how to raise a concern, and what an organisation should do when it receives one.
What whistleblowing is
Protected disclosures, and how they differ from a grievance or a complaint.
What qualifies
The categories of wrongdoing a disclosure must relate to.
Who is protected
Workers covered by the protection, and what that protection covers.
Raising a concern internally
Speak-up routes, and why internal is usually the right first step.
External disclosure
Prescribed persons and regulators, and when going outside is appropriate.
Detriment and dismissal
The protection against being treated badly for having raised a concern.
Receiving a disclosure
What a manager should do, and the mistakes that make things worse.
Building a speak-up culture
Why people stay silent, and what changes it
Outcomes
What you will be able to do afterwards
- Explain what makes a disclosure protected
- Distinguish whistleblowing from a grievance
- Say who is covered by whistleblowing protection
- Raise a concern through the appropriate internal route
- Understand when an external disclosure is appropriate
- Respond properly if someone discloses to you
- Explain what detriment means in this context
Your legal duty
The law behind whistleblowing training
Whistleblowing protection in Great Britain comes from the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, which inserted protections into the Employment Rights Act 1996. A qualifying disclosure must relate to specified categories of wrongdoing and, in the worker's reasonable belief, be made in the public interest.
Where a disclosure qualifies and is made in the right way, the worker is protected from detriment and from dismissal for having made it. The detail of who is covered and what counts as a protected disclosure is technical, so this course is awareness training rather than legal advice.
- Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998
- Employment Rights Act 1996 - where the protections sit
- Protection against detriment and dismissal for a protected disclosure
- The public interest test applies; not every complaint qualifies
Practicalities
How the course works
For employers
Whistleblowing training for a team
Speak-up cultures depend on managers reacting well the first time. Training the people most likely to receive a disclosure matters as much as training everyone else.
- One invoice instead of a card payment per person
- Licences allocated as people join, so induction is covered
- Completion and expiry reporting for your records
- Renewal reminders before certificates lapse
- Bespoke versions built around your own procedures
Personal complaints usually belong in the grievance process rather than the whistleblowing one. See Disciplinary and Grievance →
Whistleblowing eLearning: common questions
No. A protected disclosure has to relate to specified categories of wrongdoing and be made in the worker's reasonable belief that it is in the public interest. Personal grievances usually go through the grievance process instead.
Where the disclosure qualifies and is made appropriately, the law protects workers from detriment and dismissal for having made it. Whether a particular disclosure qualifies is a legal question.
Usually not. Internal routes are normally the right first step. The course explains when external disclosure to a prescribed person is appropriate.
Take it seriously, keep it confidential, do not investigate the discloser, and follow the policy. Reacting badly to a disclosure is how organisations turn a problem into a claim.
Many organisations allow it, though anonymity limits what can be investigated and what protection can attach. The course covers the trade-offs.
About 30 minutes, with no time limit. Start it, pause it, and come back whenever suits. The certificate is issued the moment you finish.
Yes. It runs in a browser on any modern phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to install.
Yes. Open a business account and we invoice you for the licences, which you allocate as people need them. Completion reporting is included.
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