Whistleblowing: How to make a report

When reporting your concerns to us, it’s important you first understand the whistleblowing process.

You may be nervous about making a report about your employer or someone that you know well. So, to make sure you are comfortable with the whistleblowing journey, here are the steps you should take and what we will do when you report the wrongdoing to us.

If you're unsure about who to contact, find out where to make your report.

Before contacting the FCA

Before speaking to us, you should consider:

• raising your concerns internally at your firm (if you are confident doing so)
• speaking with the whistleblowing charity Protect
• taking time to understand more about the legal protections given to whistleblowers through the Public Interest Disclosure Act 

What happens when you contact us

If you have any questions, or if you’re ready to make a report, we'll make sure you understand the process and will help you where possible.

You'll be assigned a point of contact within the Whistleblowing team. Your point of contact can arrange to speak with you or meet you in person to talk about your concerns.

Your point of contact will:

• listen to your concerns in full
• take the time to understand your concerns
• ask questions to make sure they have the information they need to progress your report 

We may suggest that you make reports independently to other regulators or public bodies, such as law enforcement agencies if appropriate.

We will also formally acknowledge that we have received your information and give you a reference number.

Make a whistleblowing report

The information we receive from whistleblowers helps us to act. As a regulator, we can only act on your concerns if you tell us about them.

Many regulated firms will have a whistleblowing process in place, and if you feel confident in doing so, you may wish to follow this process before speaking to us. You don't have to do so though. 

If you have more questions about our process, or are ready report it to us, you can contact us via the information below.

We can arrange to meet with you to discuss your concerns in person, but we will need some information before meeting with you. To find out more, please contact the Whistleblowing team using the contact details above.

Contact the PRA for any wrongdoing related to prudential issues in a PRA-regulated firm.

What to include in your report

To start the process, an email or phone call to us is enough. To help us quickly understand and progress your report, it will be helpful to know the following:

• the firm or individual's name
• what is the suspected wrongdoing
• who is involved
• how long it has been going on
• where this is happening
• what is the impact
• if you have any supporting documents or evidence you can share with us

We don't encourage whistleblowers to proactively obtain any more information from any source, whatever the circumstances, as this might break the law. However, we may ask whistleblowers to clarify the information they have already given us. 

What we will need to know about you

It is helpful to have your contact details (an email address, for example). This is not mandatory, but we may sometimes need to ask you more questions, update you on progress or follow up on the information you've provided.

Any of the details you share with us will be stored securely and we limit access to this information to the Whistleblowing team. Remember, providing us with your details is up to you − we will accept and process your information if you want to remain anonymous as well.