Member

96: After Clause 26, insert the following new Clause— “Regulations to protect whistleblowers(1) The Secretary of State must, by regulations, make provision to—(a) extend the circumstances in which an employee is considered unfairly dismissed after making a protected disclosure, and(b) require employers to take reasonable steps to investigate any disclosure made to them under section 43C of the Employment Rights Act 1996.(2) Regulations made under subsection 1 apply to any employer with—(a) 50 or more employees,(b) an annual business turnover or annual balance sheet total of £10 million or more,(c) operations in financial services, or(d) vulnerabilities in other respects to money laundering or terrorist financing.(3) When making regulations under subsection (1)(b), the Secretary of State must set out in statutory guidance what “reasonable steps” should include.(4) The Secretary of State must make regulations under this section within six months of the day on which this Act is passed.(5) Regulations under this section are subject to the negative resolution procedure.”Member's explanatory statement This new clause requires the Secretary of State to make regulations strengthening whistleblower protections by broadening unfair dismissal grounds and obliging certain employers to take reasonable steps to investigate protected disclosures.