Nearly one in five UK employees report being aware of conduct in the last year that violated either the law or their organisation’s ethical standards, yet one in three did not report it. This is amongst the findings of a report published today by the Institute of Business Ethics.

The organisation’s 2024 Ethics at Work Survey found that two in five employees cited fear of jeopardising their job, or concerns that corrective action would not be taken by their organisation as a deterrent to speaking up after witnessing misconduct.

The research, which surveyed 753 Brits as part of a wider international study, found that only three in five employees said their organisation provides a confidential means of reporting.

Lauren Branston, CEO of the Institute of Business Ethics, commented: “If we’re serious about preventing the harmful workplace behaviours that we see constantly hitting the headlines, like sexual harassment and bullying, a safe ‘speak up’ culture is crucial. When employees are afraid of retaliation or believe their concerns won't be acted upon, serious issues can persist unchecked.

“A culture where employees feel safe to speak up leads to increased trust, improved employee engagement and ultimately, better overall performance...getting this right isn’t just about risk management – it has real, tangible benefits for businesses.”

Internationally, the IBE’s survey showed a generational divide in willingness to report misconduct. Younger employees aged 18-34 (70%) are more likely to raise concerns compared with colleagues aged 35-54 (61%) and those aged 55 and above (54%).

Younger employees (52%) also felt more likely to experience retaliation after raising their concerns about misconduct than their older colleagues aged 35-54 (43%) and 55 and over (33%).

Branston added: “When workers don’t feel that issues will be addressed internally, they may look for other avenues to speak out. We’re increasingly seeing employees, particularly younger employees, turning to social media platforms like TikTok to voice their concerns.”

While about four in five employees say that people in their organisation know what is expected of them in terms of ethical behaviour, only half say that "issues of right and wrong" are discussed in staff meetings. Just three in five said that "decisions about people" are made fairly in their organisation.

The IBE is highlighting its report two weeks ahead of the Worker Protection Act coming into force. The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 places new duties on employers in relation to prevention of sexual harassment of employees.

Responses for the Ethics at Work 2024 International Survey of Employees were collected from a total of 12,067 participants between April and May 2024, achieving approximately 750 responses in the UK, the US, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Brazil, India and Japan.

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