Whistleblowers and the charity sector

According to Charity Commission figures released in 2025, the number of whistleblowing complaints about charities made from staff, former employees, and others has risen markedly over the last decade.

 

Among high-profile whistleblowing complains in recent years was in August 2025 when the charity regulator assessed a complaint lodged by staff at the Alan Turing Institute around governance issues.

 

The regulator’s figures showed a spike in whistleblowing reports across science-focused charities in 2025, as well as an increase in reports related to arts, culture, and heritage charities.

 

Here we look at whistleblowing reports in the sector, what is causing them, and the simple steps charities can take to ensure any grievances are addressed before they escalate.

 

 

Extent and causes of whistleblowing

 

The Charity Commission began recording whistleblowing disclosures made about charities in 2015/16, when just 87 were lodged with the regulator.

 

By 2024/25, the complaints had risen more than five times with 546 reports received that year. Of these a third were from current members of staff, one in five from former employees, and more than two in five were from those who had never worked directly for the charity.

 

The primary causes of concerns are problems around financial management, governance, and safeguarding. This has been consistent across recent years.

 

It is worth noting that between 2023/24 and 2024/5 there was an increase in concerns relating to governance amid a drop in grievances around financial and safeguarding issues.

 

Charities involved in education, training, health, poverty relief, and community development were the subject of the highest number of reports in 2024/25. Meanwhile, armed forces charities and those involved in animal welfare and overseas were among sectors with the lowest number of reports.

“When we receive a whistleblowing disclosure, we consider the information disclosed to us, then decide and prioritise what action, if any, to take according to the nature and level of risk,” said the regulator, which opened investigations into two thirds of charities subject to reports received in 2024/25.

 
“Our assessment depends on what we are told and the severity of the matter.”

 

 

Legal protection

 

Staff members who are whistleblowers are protected from detrimental treatment of victimisation from their employer if their report is “in the public interest” under the Public Interest Disclosure Act (1998).

 

Most workers in the public, private, and charity sectors are covered, although it doesn’t apply to charity trustees and volunteers or those employed on a freelance basis.

 

Under this law if a worker is dismissed after they have made a protected whistleblowing disclosure that will be treated as an unfair dismissal. The act is clear that charities are within its legal jurisdiction.

 

Paul O’Donnell, Managing Director at workplace relationships specialist CMP, explains that “there is clear legal guidance and protection for whistleblowers” through this law but “it’s debatable whether there’s yet a full appreciation of the status of the whistleblower” among all organisations.

 

He adds that charities need to be aware that “all that needs to be established is that the employee has reasonable intentions” under the Act and that “there’s no malice involved” of which “a Tribunal gets to decide on this, not the employer”. 

 

He also urges charities to understand the differences “between agitation, grievances and whistleblowing”.

 

 

Open and healthy culture

 

O’Donnell adds that often whistleblowing “happens when a culture has gone wrong, when people feel they’re not or won’t be listened to”. He urges charities to minimise the risk of whistleblowing reports being made by focusing on creating a culture of open and healthy, constructive conversations across levels”.

 

Advice he gives is for charities to consider appointing a “whistleblower guardian”, with responsibility in the organisation for the whistleblowing process and dealing with issues raised.

 

These “guardians” can also be responsible for offering whistleblowing training for managers and developing a rapid response system “meaning investigations can be carried out and concerns addressed quickly”.

 

The importance of training for management in responding efficiently to whistleblower concerns and for staff to ensure they know who to speak to cannot be underestimated, according to Elizabeth Gardiner, the Chief Executive of whistleblowing charity Protect.

 

“Despite the myths, most whistleblowers are not persistent, so there is a small window of opportunity to thank the whistleblower for the information, assure them of confidentiality, and confirm that their concerns will be taken seriously and investigated, if necessary,” she says.

 

Gardiner adds that if such training is not in place there is a risk whistleblowers may believe their concerns are not being listened to and escalate grievances to the Charity Commission.  

 

“You have a duty not to treat a whistleblower badly,” she warns charities.

 

Further advice from Protect for charities on developing robust whistleblowing procedures can be found here.