Whistleblowing | Record number of whistleblowing reports highlights increasing employee confidence

In recent years, awareness of whistleblowing has become more prominent regardless of industries - amongst the public and employees - following more regular articles in the press and widespread coverage of high-profile cases. With more awareness around this topic, new data from Safecall reveals that whistleblowing reports in 2024 increased by 16% year-on-year, reaching its highest level ever.

Safecall’s flagship annual Benchmark Report, which tracks the trends and fluctuations in global reports to the leading whistleblowing and investigations provider, reveals the non-profit sector was the most active in making reports, with one report being made for every 100 employees. Other sectors reporting more than the Safecall average (one report for every 370 employees) include the food processing/wholesale sector and emergency services.

When looking at what drives reports, HR-related complaints continue to top the list. This includes bullying, discrimination, and unfair treatment, perhaps because this is the easiest to identify within the workplace, with over half of these reports falling under this category (55%).

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On the other hand, reports related to bribery, corruption, fraud and theft - dishonest behaviour - now make up nearly one in five reports (19%), a record high from previous years. Housing associations see the largest number of these reports, with 60% reporting about dishonest behaviour.